BusinessMirror July 28, 2023

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

AFTER four consecutive months of decline, the country’s foreign investments registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through its authorized agent banks (AABs) posted inflows in June.

Data showed hot money inflows reached $889 million, higher by $45 million or a growth of 5.3 percent compared to the $845 million recorded in May 2023.

“The recorded net inflows are also a reversal from the net outflows posted in May 2023 [$124 million] and in June 2022 [$342 million],” BSP said in a statement on Thursday.

However, year-on-year, the registered investments in June 2023 are lower than the $1 billion recorded in June 2022 by $149 million or by 14.4 percent.

Gross outflows also declined by $493 million or by 35.7 percent compared to the gross outflows posted in June 2022 at $1.4 billion.BSP said the $1-million net inflows in June 2023 are an improvement from the $342-mil -

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

THE Contact Center Asso -

ciation of the Philippines (CCAP) has expressed confidence that the target employment figure of the contact center sector for 2028 will be achieved “even with the emergence of generative AI [artificial intelligence].”

Speaking at the Contact Islands 2023 held in Mactan, Cebu, CCAP Managing Director Rosario Cajucom-Bradbury said the forecast workforce growth of the sector is 2.3 mil -

lion full-time employees, which she said is to be accounted for by CCAP member-firms, out of the 2.5-million employment target of the entire IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry by 2028.

Contrary to “common assumptions,” the CCAP official said the contact center group believes the new technology will “bolster” the sector’s productivity instead of threatening jobs.

“Generative AI can enhance the strengths of our Filipino agents who can then focus on active listening and become more empathetic and engaging

when rendering service to our customers,” she explained.

She pointed out that agents are continuously being upskilled to further equip them with the right knowledge and skills amid the evolving nature of jobs across the sector and the industry.

“Agents can be redeployed and upskilled to make them always relevant to the future business model,” the CCAP Managing Director said.

Last month, Cajucom-Bradbury pointed out that the Generative AI has an impact on client business, the way services

PrOjEctS gIVEn grEEn lanE cErtIFIcatES WOrth P183b

lion net outflows recorded for the same period a year ago.

“Year-to-date transactions [01 January to 30 June 2023] for foreign investments registered with the BSP, through AABs, yielded net outflows of $803 million, which is a reversal of the $778-million net inflows noted for the same period last year [01 January to 30 June 2022],” BSP said.

The data showed the majority of registered investments of $700 million or 78.7 percent were in Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)listed securities. These investments were made in securities on property; banks; holding firms; food, beverage and tobacco; and telecommunications.

THE One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments has already received 12 applications for the Green Lane in the renewable energy, digital infrastructure, manufacturing, and electricity sectors, among others, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual.

Of these 12, the Trade chief said four have already been approved for green lane services.

These are under the following industries/sectors: renewable energy, digital infrastructure, digital infrastructure, manufacturing, and electricity.

He noted that these 12 are set to generate at least 19,250 jobs.

Meanwhile, in a message sent to reporters, the Board of Investments (BOI) said the projects that were issued Green Lane Certificates by BOI amounted to P183 billion, which it said represent

a “significant investment” in various sustainable projects, ranging from floating solar projects to data centers and common towers.

According to BOI, these projects include: SunAsia Energy Inc.’s P66-billion 1300 megawatt (MW) floating solar project in Laguna de Bay; NK Solar One Inc.’s P15-billion 250MW floating solar project in Caliraya, Laguna; Phil-tower Consortium Inc.’s P52-billion 7,907 Built-to-Suit Common Towers; and Narra Technology Development Park’s P50billion Hyperscale Data Center in New Clark City, Tarlac.

Additional projects worth P78.5 billion are already under evaluation. Among the projects being evaluated are five more floating solar projects, a microhydro electric plant, a reinforcing steel bars producer, and a section mill project.

are delivered by the BPO Industry, and the corporate services of providers, namely,e HR, Finance, etc.

She cited the use of Generative AI Assist working alongside agents when handling calls increases their efficiency, productivity, and resolution in handling customer service.

“Thus, the call agent is provided with the opportunity to have more focused active listening and genuine empathy rather than being preoccupied in navigating the system for resolution.

See “Contact,” A2

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R.

Marcos Jr. on Thursday cited the country's strong economic fundamentals and export advantages in his bid to get even more business commitments from Malaysian firms on top of the US$235 million worth of investment pledges he secured during his concluded three-day State Visit in Malaysia.

"The investment commitments that we have received thus far are valued at around US$235 million, which is a good indication that there is a strong interest from Malaysia to invest in the Philippines," the Chief executive said in his speech at the Philippine Business Forum in Malaysia on Thursday before his flight back home.

During the meetings with Malaysian firms, he said they discussed possible investments on agriculture, transportation and technology.

This includes the US$20-million pledge of Malaysian dairy company Farm Fresh Berhad to establish a cattle breeding intended

for milk production in the country. The firm is eyeing to lease 200 to 400 hectares of contiguous farmland in Batangas or Laguna to raise 2,000 milking cows by 2028.

Selling point

T HE c hief executive urged more Malaysian firms to also invest in the country to take advantage of its accelerated economic growth, which reached 7.6 percent last year.

“For the first quarter of 2023, the Philippines outperformed its peers in the region by boasting the highest GDP [gross domestic product] growth of 6.4 percent, which is right in the middle of our target 6.0 to 7.0 percent for the year,” Marcos said.

He also said the country’s “liberalized” business policies, which enabled foreign ownership in air transport, telecommunications, shipping, retail and renewable energy projects, as well as business-friendly corporate tax and newly established green lanes for strategic investments to draw in more investors.

See “Growth,” A2

EgaY’S aFtErMath typhoon Egay’s recent onslaught in northern Philippines brought contrasting impacts, affecting both human lives and the environment. the combined forces of strong gale winds and the southwest monsoon led to treacherous sea conditions, cancelling trips and leaving at least 414 passengers stranded at the north Port Passenger terminal in tondo, Manila, who were originally bound for the Visayas and Mindanao. the typhoon’s fury didn’t spare the artificial Dolomite beach along Manila bay, washing ashore an unsettling amount of debris and waste. the Metropolitan Manila Development authority, Department of Environment and natural resources, and environment volunteers joined hands for a thorough cleanup along the shore. ROY DOMINGO

Contact…

Continued from A1

Filipinos’ innate trait on service orientation combined with the power of Generative AI enhances the employees experience at work that translates to an even more satisfying customer experience—therefore, helping the Philippines retain being the ‘heart of CX’ and at the same time, meeting or even exceeding growth targets,” Cajucom-Bradbury explained further.

CCAP is a sub-sector of the ITBPM industry.

Meanwhile, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap), the flagship organization of the IT-BPM industry, earlier said the success in Generative AI will be “critical” in generating the 1.1 million new jobs by 2028.

Ibpap President Jack Madrid said in May, “Companies have long been doing proof-of-concept experiments to determine how they can leverage it in their business operations to improve employee productivity, enhance customer experience, reduce costs, and increase top-line growth.”

Madrid also noted that Ibpap and its stakeholders recognized early on that GenAI will “inevitably” change the way business services are performed and delivered, bringing a “significant shift” in the dynamics between jobs, skills, and talent. Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/05/26/ibpap-headmadrid-cites-critical-role-of-genai-increating-1-1-m-jobs-by-2028/

3 regions get bulk of tourism road projects of DOT-DPWH

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

These road projects were built under a convergence program with the Department of Tourism (D o T )— the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP)—which the latter initiated in 2015, under the term of then Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. According to a DPWH report obtained by the BusinessMirror, Region 7 (Central Visayas) received the largest number of completed projects over the six-year period, with 551.74 km in tourism roads. It was followed by Region 11

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(Davao Region) with 421.27 km of completed tourism road projects, and Region 6 (Western Visayas), with 336.37 km. The least number of completed tourism roads were in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) at 131.30 km, Region 12 (Soccsksargen) with 173.43 km, and Region 10 ( northern Mindanao) with 178.76 km.

‘No one left behind’

AT t he post-State of the n ation Address (Sona) infrastructure briefing on Tuesday, Tourism Secretary

The remaining were in Peso Government Securities worth $190 million or 21.3 percent; and in other instruments, at less than one percent. The top five investor countries for

Christina Garcia Frasco said, “Specific to infrastructure through our continuing partnership with the DPWH, there have been over 158 km of roads leading to tourist destinations that have been constructed and are ongoing, and we’re very optimistic that in the coming year, investments in tourism roads will continue, so that we can continue to expand countrywide development as far as tourism is concerned, so we fulfill the President’s vision that no one is left behind, as far as the local government units’ benefit from tourism development.” The same DPWH report showed 150.58 km tourism road projects completed last year, with Central Visayas having received the bulk at 28 km, followed by Soccsksargen with some 18.4 km, and the Davao Region with 16.09 km. There was no status report available regarding ongoing TRIP projects, which have been allocated a budget of some P17.7 billion under the General Approriations

the month were the United Kingdom (UK); United States (US); Luxembourg; Singapore; and Switzerland with a combined share at 84.2 percent.

Registration of inward foreign investments delegated to AABs by the BSP is optional under the rules on foreign exchange (FX) transactions. It is required only if the investor or its representative will purchase

Projects…

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Last July 13, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. together with Secretary Pascual led the official launch of the green lanes for strategic investments.

The green lanes for strategic investments were established through e x ecutive o rd er n o. 18 ( e o 18) issued on February 23,2023.

According to B o I e x ecutive o rd er n o. 18 is a government-wide response to enhance the ease of doing business in the country by “expediting, streamlining and automating” government processes for strategic investments.

The outstanding feature of the

Growth…

Continued from A1

Businesses based in the country, he said, will also have access to a highly skilled and young Filipino workforce and its over 100 million population as potential clients.

Act this year. This year’s budget for TRIP projects is just slightly higher than the P17.09-billion allocated in 2022. Funding for tourism road projects account for less than 2 percent of the DPWH’s P893.12-billion budget this year.

Meanwhile, Frasco also said at the post-Sona briefing, “over 25 million Filipinos have benefited from tourism,” after domestic and international travelers spent some P1.87 trillion in the economy last year. There were 2.65 million foreign tourists who arrived last year and over 102 million domestic trips made by Filipinos the same year. “All of these translates to over 5.35 million jobs for Filipinos,” she added.

As of July 25, the Philippines received 3.1 million international travelers, almost 65 percent of the D o T ’s target of 4.8 million arrivals this year. The agency is also targetting to return to the prepandemic level of 122 million domestic trips this year.

FX from AABs and/or their subsidiary/affiliate foreign exchange corporations for repatriation of capital and remittance of earnings that accrue on the registered investment.

Without such registration, the foreign investor can still repatriate capital and remit earnings on its investment but the FX will have to be sourced outside the banking system.

measure is the provision for simultaneous processing of applications, whereby n a tional Government Agencies ( n GAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) that receive applications for permits and licenses are mandated to process the same, with the presumption that the relevant documents from other agencies have already been issued. The applicant firm shall execute an affidavit of undertaking that it has secured the relevant documents from specific n GAs or LGUs and that it shall submit the complete documentary requirements within 30 working days.

The establishment of green lanes is a move seen to address the barriers that hamper the entry of foreign direct investments. Andrea E. San Juan

“This [ideal demographic spot] translates to an immense potential to achieve breakthrough growth and greater productivity, higher savings rate and increased creativity,” Marcos said. Market access Co M PA n I e S w hich will invest in the country, will also be able to use it as a "strategic launch pad for their exports" due to its Regional Comprehensive e con omic Partnership (RC e P) membership and the e uropean Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), according to the President.

RC e P is a free trade agreement of the Association of Southeast Asian (AS e A n ) together with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and n e w Zealand, which cut tariffs on some goods traded among its signatories.

Meanwhile, the GSP+ removes the tariffs for numerous Filipino-made products, which are exported to the eU

“With the e uropean Union’s agreement with the Philippines or e U -GSP+ advantages, local manufacturers and investors enjoy zero tariff market access to the e U f or over 6,000 product lines,” Marcos said.

The country is currently pushing for the extension of its GSP+ with the e U, which is set to expire by the end of the year.

The President made no mention of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the country’s first sovereign investment fund in his speech before Malaysian business leaders.

Crucial investments

M A RC o S s aid he is determined to increase the country's foreign direct investments (FDI) from Malaysia, which currently stands at about US$108 million, to boost the country's manufacturing industry.

Landbank loans in H1 to MSMEs reach

STAT e - RU n L and Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) said its outstanding loan portfolio to micro-sized, small-scale and medium-sized enterprises (MSM e s) at the end of the first half rose by 7 percent year-on-year to nearly P50 billion.

In a statement, the Landbank said its outstanding loans to MSM e s a s of end-June reached P49.5 billion, about P2.9-billion higher than the P46.6 billion it recorded in the same period of last year.

The BusinessMirror is still awaiting further details or reasons behind the increase of its MSM e l oan portfolio as of this writing. n o netheless, the Landbank said the loan portfolio benefited at least 6,100 borrowers.

“Landbank recognizes the crucial role of MSM e s i n advancing economic development and job generation,” the bank's President and C eo Lynette V. o r tiz was quoted in the statement as saying. “We will continue to work with various government partners to grow our loan portfolio for the sector and

₧50B

open more opportunities for our local entrepreneurs.”

The Landbank said it has been offering special lending programs for MSM e s and entrepreneurs on top of its regular loan facilities.

The Landbank said it provides credit and loan restructuring assistance to MSM e s i mpacted by the Covid-19 pandemic under its “i-Rescue” program.

The bank said it opened this lending window at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and was able to raise P60 billion as available loanable fund to accommodate more borrowers.

“The program is available until the end of the year,” it said.

The other lending programs of Landbank targeted to MSM e s include those that extend financial assistance to women-owned or -led MSM e s , overseas Filipino workers, and new and existing franchisees. The bank said it also offers credit assistance to Filipino inventors, MSM e s a nd large enterprises, who are eyeing to commercialize their innovative technologies. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

“It [FDI] has been at that level for a fairly long time now. And I think it is time for the new transformation. This provides many opportunities that will give us the chance to increase that level of trade that we have been achieving over the past many years,” Marcos said.

A more established manufacturing sector, he pointed out, will allow the country to become competitive in the global market.

“We have to redress that balance and put manufacturing also at a more even level with the service industries in terms of their contribution to the GDP. And for that, we need capital intensive investments,” Marcos said.

He committed to continue providing support to Malaysian businesses, which will invest or are already operating in the country to achieve the said purpose.

“I look forward to the Malaysian business community coming to the Philippines and working together with their Filipino counterparts in partnership to unlock value not only in our two countries but in our entire region,” the President said.

OVER 3,800 kilometers in roads to various tourism destinations have been constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) from 2016 to 2022.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Army Scout Rangers told: Terminate NPA’s existence, prepare shift to external defense

ARMED Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. ordered the Army’s Scout Rangers to terminate the communist-led insurgency in the country in preparation for the military’s transition from local to territorial defense posture.

The chief of staff gave his directive during the installation on Wednesday of Col. Isagani Criste as the new commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) wherein he succeeded Major Gen. Freddie Dela Cruz, who was named the commander of the Special

Operations Command (SOCOM).

Criste, member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1994, served as deputy commander of the FSRR for nearly two years before he took over the reins of command, and has held other positions, including as a battalion commander.

Brawner reiterated to the FSRR the urgency of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to the military to end the insurgency within this year so that the soldiers could fully focus on territorial defense.

“We’ve been given an urgent mission to defeat the horizontal and vertical units of the CTG [communist terrorist group] this year.

This is a tall task for all of us because they are much harder to find as their numbers go small,” the chief of staff pointed out.

“But let us give our everything and our best so we will be able to accomplish this task,” he added.

The military, in its previous report, said the New People’s Army, with 1, 800 members, is still present or exerts influence in 200

barangays across the country. During the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the former Commanderin-Chief ordered the military to end the NPA within his six-year presidency. While the objective was not met, the soldiers, however, managed to pull down the rebel membership to its current number.

Brawner said the internal security operations against the rebels should end this year as the AFP plans to go “full blast” in its effort to transition to territorial defense

next year.

The chief of staff said every Scout Ranger, with his specialized skills in tracking adversaries, would be vital in achieving a complete victory against the rebels.

“As one of the AFP’s elite and hard-hitting forces against various threat groups, the FSRR has proven its indispensable position as a cutting-edge unit of the AFP as we fulfill our mandate of protecting the people and securing the country,” Brawner said.

One of the units of the FSRR, the 4th

Scout Ranger Battalion has been deployed to Northern Samar to help in dismantling the last active guerilla front of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Brawner said the help and support of the FSRR have been vital in the demise of several high-value NPA leaders during the last two years, including Jorge Madlos and Menandro Villanueva.

Brawner was the commander of the 4th Infantry Division that led the operation that terminated Madlos. Rene Acosta

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday reported an initial P53.1 million worth of farm damage following typhoon “Egay’s” onslaught.

In its latest bulletin, the DA said the amount of damage was recorded in four regions.

“Based on the assessment of DA Regional Field Offices [RFOs] in CAR [Cordillera Administrative Region], Calabarzon and Mimaropa and Region XIII [Caraga], damage and losses have been reported amounting to PHP53.1 million affecting 2,303 farmers, with volume of production loss at 1,871 metric tons [MT] and 3,185 hectares of agricultural areas,” it said.

“Affected commodities include rice, corn, livestock and poultry. These values are subject to validation,” the report added.

Most of the damage and losses were incurred at seedling, newly planted, and vegetative stages of rice,” the DA report added.

“The DA, through its RFOs, is monitoring the effects of supertyphoon Egay and conducting an assessment of damage and losses brought in the agriculture and fisheries sector,” it said.

Moreover, the DA is also coordinating with concerned government agencies, local governments and other disaster response offices on available resources for assistance in response to the typhoon’s impact.

The following forms of assistance are available for distribution to affected farmers and fishers: rice, corn and assorted vegetable seeds; drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry; fingerlings assistance to affected fisherfolk from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with loanable amount of up to P25,000 payable in three years at zero interest; and Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas.

Mor eover, on its Thursday’s weather forecast, Pagasa said that Egay continues

PHL and Malaysia Halal partnership seen to open new jobs, business opportunities

to weaken over the Luzon strait west of Batanes, while the southwest monsoon will be affecting Southern Luzon and Visayas.

The weather bureau said that there is possible flooding or landslides because of moderate to intense rains or severe thunderstorms.

The social action arm of the Catholic Church, Caritas Philippines, meanwhile, issued an appeal to help communities devastated by Egay in Northern Luzon.

C aritas Philippines President Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo urged “unaffected” dioceses to send emergency relief to typhoon-stricken areas.

They will be needing food, shelter materials, water, medicine, and other emergency supplies. Affected communities will also be needing our prayers,” said Bishop Bagaforo.

A ccording to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday, there were 58-recorded flooded areas in five regions and 16 rain-induced landslides.

C aritas Philippines has already activated a quick reaction team to assess the impacts of the typhoon, Bishop Bagafaro confirmed.

A t the same time, other social action centers of affected dioceses were told “to send updates and situational reports” to Caritas Philippines.

T he Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), for its part, has already prepared food packs in different regions, said Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday at a media briefing.

G atchalian stated that 1.3 million family food packs are pre-positioned in 16 regions, and around 80,000 to 100,000 are placed in Regions 1, 2, and CAR.

“Bago pa dumating ang bagyo, pinaghahandaan na natin and even other disasters like earthquake and ‘yung katulad ng nangyari sa Mayon,” said Gatchalian. Raadee S. Sausa, Patrick V. Miguel with PNA

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G.

Romualdez

on Thursday said the partnership established between the Philippines and Malaysia in the Halal industry would create more jobs and business opportunities for people of both countries.

“The agreement between the Philippines and Malaysia to cooperate in this vital sector undoubtedly signifies a significant step towards the creation of more jobs, as well as the livelihood and business prospects of our people,” Romualdez said in a news statement.

Last Tuesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced in a joint news conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that they agreed to convene the next Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission meeting to discuss priority cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including in the Halal industry.

He said that according to market research, the global halal food market size reached $2,221.3 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $4,177.3 billion by 2028.

“The Halal industry holds immense potential. By working together, we can capitalize on the Halal market’s vast opportunities, creating new avenues for trade, investment, and employment,” Romualdez said.

Malaysia, one of the leading Halal industries in the world, has offered its expertise to train Philippine personnel and officials in this sector, particularly those in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as well as in other areas of cooperation.

As such, Romualdez said the partnership between the two countries in the Halal industry forged during the state visit of President Marcos in Malaysia would bolster the competitiveness of our businesses, particularly in the agri-food sector.

“With President Marcos’ priority

on digitalization of government processes and improved Internet connectivity, we can tap e-commerce channels and social media to market our goods globally and profit from the growing demand worldwide for Halal products,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez also reiterated his commitment that the lower chamber is willing to consider measures that would help the country benefit from the revitalized ties between the Philippines and Malaysia.

“The House of Representatives stands ready to support any legislative measures necessary to facilitate the successful implementation of this bilateral cooperation in the Halal industry. We will work in tandem with the Executive branch to create an enabling environment that fosters innovation, investment, and responsible business practices,” he said.

Romualdez cited, among others, House Bill 7118, which seeks to amend

Republic Act 9997, or the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Act of 2009, to promote local Halal enterprises and product development.

Romualdez also expressed confidence that the three-day state visit of Marcos to Malaysia would generate additional benefits for the people of both countries.

According to Marcos, the forthcoming Joint Commission meeting will provide government agencies of both countries with an avenue to discuss cooperation in detail not only in the Halal industry but also on matters regarding transnational crimes, agriculture, Islamic banking, education, tourism and culture, sports, and the digital economy.

“This significant partnership is a testament to the vision and leadership of both President Marcos and Prime Minister Anwar. Let us move forward with determination and optimism, united in our pursuit of a prosperous future for both the people of the Philippines and Malaysia,” Romualdez said.

Palace MC adopts PHFDP 2020-2040, LGUs urged to support health program

MALACAÑANG has finally announced the adoption of the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan (PHFDP) 2020-2040.

Ex ecutive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin made the announcement in his Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 26, which he signed on July 25, 2023, but was only released to the media last Thursday.

Under the new issuance, he mandated all concerned national government agencies and instrumentalities, including governmentowned or -controlled corporations (GOCC), to support the implementation of the PHFDP.

Crafted by the Department of Health (DOH), the PHFDP serves as the country’s

DOLE cites increase in job opportunities for Filipinos

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday reported that job opportunities in the Philippines have increased since the opening 1,190 job fairs nationwide in July last year.

W ith the Public Employment Service

Offices (PESOs), 325,418 job seekers registered to the said job fairs, and 50,849 were hired on the spot, said DOLE. In a news statement, DOLE attributed the increase in job opportunities to RA 11261, or the “First Time Jobseekers Act.”

R A 11261 was signed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte in April 2019, mandating

that no fees or charges will be collected from first-time job seekers requesting documents from government agencies.

DOLE and other agencies signed on Ma y 12 the operational guidelines for first-time job seekers.

Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that providing effective services for work is one of the primary mandates of DOLE aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

“Mahalaga ang mga serbisyong pangempleoupangmabilisangtransisyonmula sapaaralantungosatrabaho,atpag-bawas ngmgagastusinsapaghahanapngtrabaho.

[Services for employment are important for efficient transition from school to work, and to minimize expenses for job seeking],” said Laguesma.

A ccording to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the employment rate as of May 2023 was estimated at 95.7 percent, or 48.26 million employed Filipinos. 46.08 million were reported to be employed last year, May 2022.

Sinc e his second Sona, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. plans to increase the employment rate.

We will generate additional jobs for the

overall strategy for infrastructure and medical investments to ensure Filipinos will enjoy a strong primary care and integrated health system in line with the Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.

D OH, the Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments and Fiscal Incentives Review Board are now set to develop policies, which will help address gaps in the PHFDP.

The said agencies will “study, formulate, and implement policies that will encourage both domestic and international enterprises from the private sector to invest in health facilities.”

B ersamin also tasked DOH to coordinate with the Department of the Interior and Local

remaining 4.3 percent of our work force, as well as for the 11.7 percent underemployed Filipinos seeking better employment opportunities,” said Marcos.

Meanwhile, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said job quality still needs improvement, despite the improved employment situation.

W hile the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent, Balisacan said that a low jobless rate is different from creating decent jobs that would decrease the poverty rate to 9 percent by 2028.

“ The number of jobs is one thing but the quality of those jobs is another,” said Balisacan on Wednesday during the 2023 Post SONA Discussions. Patrick V. Miguel

Government (DILG) to urge local government units (LGU) to integrate in the PHFDP in their respective Local Investments Plans for Health and Local Development Investment Programs.

I t will encourage LGUs to enter into public-private partnerships (PPP) to secure investments related to public health facilities.

T he health department will submit annual reports to the Office of the Executive Secretary on the implementation of the PHFDP 2020-2040.

It will also issue guidelines for the effective implementation of MC 26.

“The DOH sincerely thanks President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for adopting the

PHFDP aimed at transforming Filipino lives through an integrated health-care system and sustainable health-care facilities and services. By working with national and local government units, we shall be able to establish health-care facilities that can stand the test of time, and build more primary care provider networks, specialty centers, and integrated health-care provider networks within localities. The adoption of the PHFDP is a milestone in health, which will ultimately reinforce the goals of the Department’s 8-point Action Agenda,” said DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa in reaction to the Palace issuance of the new MC. Samuel P. Medenilla and Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Where have all the girls gone? PSA reports 5-M Filipino women got married before 20

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

OVER 5 million women were married even before they reached their 20th birthday, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The data showed 5.178 million Filipinas were married below 15 years old and between 15 and 19 years old. PSA said girls married before reaching 15 years old reached 157,740, while the number of those married between 15 to 19 years old reached 5.02 million.

The data also showed that over half or 3.286 million of these women got married when they reached 18 and 19 years old. A total of 1.699 million were 18 years old when they got married and 1.587 million were 19 years old.

“The median age at first marriage among ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years was 21.6 years, an increase of 0.1 year compared with the 21.5 years posted in 2010. The age at first marriage refers to the age of the woman when she first got married or lived in a consensual union,” the PSA said.

PSA said in terms of region, Calabarzon recorded a total of 714,805 involving women below 15 years old and between 15 and 19 years old.

This was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 520,461; Northern Mindanao, 294,940; Davao Region, 294,689; and Central Visayas, 288,951. The data showed women who got married even before reaching 15 years old was the highest in Calabarzon at 19,238 followed by SOCCSKSARGEN with 13,719; NCR, 12,690; Northern Mindanao, 12,684; and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), 11,570.

The PSA said by age group, the median age at first marriage of women aged 15 to 19 years was 17.3 years. It increased to 19.6 years among women aged 20 to 24 years and further to 21 years among women aged 25 to 29 years.

Among women aged 30 years and over, the median age at first marriage averaged at about 23 years. The same trend but with slightly lower values were observed in 2010.

Data showed that among the 17 regions, six had a median age at first marriage higher than the national figure of 21.6 years. These were Region VI-Western Visayas and NCR with 22.4 years each, Ilocos Region and Cordillera Administrative Region with 22.2 years each, and Calabarzon and Central Visayas with 22 years each.

PSA said that BARMM posted the lowest median age at first marriage among regions, with 20.3 years.

DA reports initial ₧53.1M farm damage after ‘Egay’

‘Egay’ leaves wide swathe of destruction across PHL

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that at least five people, including four in Baguio City, also died in the typhoon’s wake

although these reports are still being validated. B ased on the NDRRMC’s report, severe flooding was recorded in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Pangasinan,

La Union, Tarlac and Pampanga in Northern and Central Luzon; Rizal, Cavite, Occidental Mindoro; Palawan and Oriental Mindoro in Southern Luzon.

F looding was also reported in Camarines Sur and Catanduanes in Bicol Region; Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, Negros Occidental and Southern Leyte in the Visayas; and Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao in Mindanao.

I n some areas, landslides also occurred.

At least 40 roads and 12 bridges have remained impassable, while 84 cities and municipalities are still without power. At least 400 houses were also damaged or destroyed.

A ll in all, the NDRRMC said Egay has so far affected 89,639

families or 328,356 families in 836 barangays in Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10 and 12; in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Cordillera Administrative Region.

W hile it has already moved away from the country, swelling in rivers and floodwaters continued to rise in some areas, especially in Northern Luzon due to rains associated with the super typhoon and the enhanced southwest monsoon.

T he military and the Philippine Coast Guard said their personnel are continuing to undertake rescue operations and bring quick aid to affected populations in Northern Luzon.

R oad clearing operations are also being undertaken.

courts US-Asean Business Council support for DENR programs

SEEKING the support of the private sector, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently met with delegates from the US–Asean Business Council (USABC) to strengthen collaboration on sustainability, climate change, green finance, and environmental protection.

Held on July 12 in Taguig City, the meeting paved the way for the DENR chief and the US-ABC to discuss how both organizations can work together in the fields of climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and plastic pollution.

US-ABC is the premier advocacy organization for American corporations operating within the Southeast Asian region. Worldwide, the Council’s membership of nearly 170 companies generates almost $7 trillion in revenue and employs more than 14.5 million people.

In a news statement, Yulo-Loyzaga underscored the importance of cli-

mate change adaptation and stressed that any contributions by way of nature-based solutions for adaptation and for disaster risk reduction.

Under her watch, she said the DENR is looking at investment in prevention or ex-ante value from the private sector, particularly naturebased solutions such as forest conservation, control of river erosion, water conservation efforts, and investment in gray and green infrastructure.

We realize that the goal of the private sector has been primarily in providing relief during disasters, which we understand is valuable but is essentially an ex-post value to the country and to the communities. We hope that the [US-ABC] can also be an advocate for adaptation and not just mitigation which are both sides of the same coin.”

The other end of the stake, Loyzaga said, would be DRR, which is ultimately what would impact the country’s trajectory towards economic and

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

social development. L oyzaga encouraged the private sector to look beyond compliance to environmental, social, and governance or ESG in terms of emissions reduction, renewable energy, energy efficiency and pollution management.

She also urged them to look to adaptation and resilience building of the communities where they work, as well as the ecosystems that they rely on.

The DENR chief also urged the private sector to “clean up whatever it is you produced and released,” highlighting the need for businesses to look at investment and research towards the replacement of plastic.

What we want to do is to look for ways to produce materials which are sustainable, which are biodegradable, which are affordable but have the same functionality as the packaging materials that we now are using because they are optimal in terms of our products that we produce. That investment in the chemistry that is needed, I think,

is within your reach and so that is one of the big pushes,” she said.

Loyzaga expressed hope the USABC can help the DENR bring forward the upliftment of the informal waste sector consisting of waste pickers in dumpsites and communal waste collection points.

The sector is particularly impacted by hazardous environments because of the waste that we generate and their involvement in the solid waste management industry,” YuloLoyzaga said. “We hope that we can share that advocacy and we look for ways to actually innovate.”

“ Waste picking, waste collection, waste sorting is a phenomenon not just in the Philippines, but in all countries in Asean. And so, we’re not the only ones who have that informal sector involved in this whole circular economy. They have been locked out of the value chain but they are part of the supply chain of the circular economy,” she ended.

DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro

Jr. said the Department of National Defense (DND) is continuing to address and develop the fundamental building blocks in the country’s effort to create a “credible deterrent posture.”

“ We continue the upgrades, not only of our equipment, but [also by] bridging the gaps between the different horizons in our modernization timeframe and the skills of our people, both in the civilian side in the defense department and the five agencies,” Teodoro said.

Attending the post State of the Nation Address discussions remotely on Wednesday as he was overseeing the government’s response to typhoon “Egay,” the defense chief said the DND is working with partner agencies to maintain internal peace and stability.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed the DND to look for nontraditional partners and alliances in upgrading the country’s defense capabilities as well as capabilities to predict and analyze trends in order to prepare for any eventuality that may befall the country and require the agency’s resources in the future.

We are also in the process of looking for partners, not only for pure defensive purposes, but also for the convergence of both the economic and security potentials of growth industries, particularly in technology and in cyber,” the defense chief added.

Teodoro said the DND is also expanding its scope in order to create cross-border investments in disruptive and emerging technologies as it gears to achieve a self-reliant defense posture or program.

H e said the country needs a stronger, real time and fully analyzed convergence of information, from point of occurrence to the de -

cision-making process, in as much real time as possible.

Teodoro also said the DND is likewise upgrading the morale and welfare of the men and women in uniform, including the retirees and veterans whom the department is mandated to care for.

“ The President’s instructions are that their welfare be made paramount in our mandate to uplift the lives and to continue the care, particularly of those who cannot care for themselves,” he said.

D uring the discussions, the defense secretary also cited the importance of enhancing the Office of Civil Defense’s coordinative functions in order to get reliable and timely information to the people in times of disasters and calamities.

Great strides have been made by our partner agencies with the primary responsibility for preparedness and resiliency, namely, the DILG [Department of the Interior Local Government] because the first responders are local government units [LGUs]; in case of predictive capabilities for natural calamities, a lot has been done by the DOST [Department of Science and Technology] through PHIVOLCS [Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology] and PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), and the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways], in terms of mitigation, and the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources],” he noted.

“On our part, what we want to be is the bridge between concerted national government assistance and efforts in all these aspects and the local government units,” he also said.

Rene Acosta

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) will roll out a feeding program to eradicate malnutrition among pregnant women in three municipalities in Sorsogon province.

Malnutrition among pregnant women in the province is prevalent, leading to birth problems that affect infants.

T he DAR and NNC formalized the partnership for the program with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently.

I n a statement, DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) II Nida A. Santiago said the NNC’s Tutok Kainan: Dietary Supplementation Program is being implemented under the Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) program.

For this year, the program is focusing on feeding 300 pregnant women from the municipalities of Prieto Diaz, Barcelona, and Sta. Magdalena,” Santiago said.

Officer-in-Charge PARPO 1 Liza B. Repotente said that as part of the program, the Salvacion Farmers’ Development Cooperative would supply nutritious agricultural products for the feeding program.

U nder PAHP, the three cities are encouraged to buy food supplies for the feeding of pregnant women from agrarian cooperatives.

In August 2021, the DAR Sorsogon and NNC Bicol also implemented the feeding program for children 6-23 months old.

N NC’s Tutok Kainan’s goal is to contribute to the prevention of stunting among children 23 months old and below by improving the quality and quantity of food intake of pregnant women and babies.

THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the dismissal by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Commission on Bar Discipline (IBP-CBD) of an administrative complaint filed against lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, and another lawyer.

A side from Carpio, the Court also cleared lawyer Edgar Dennis Padernal of any wrongdoing.

C arpio and Padernal were the subject of an administrative complaint filed by Alfredo Honegger, a Swiss national, and his Filipino wife Lumenaria.

T he spouses accused the two lawyers of violating the Lawyer’s Oath when they assisted in filing and prosecution of “frivolous and baseless” cases against them.

The couple insisted that the filing of the said cases were in bad faith and were intended to harass them.

R ecords showed that between the years 2014 to 2018, the Honeggers became defendants or respondents in a number of legal actions or proceedings before local courts and agencies.

T hese proceedings include a collection case before the Regional

Trial Court of Manila where the couple were ordered to jointly pay the complainant, Bernhard Antno Burch, another Swiss national, the amount of P6.5 million, including interest; an estafa case filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) of Manila; a cyber libel case before the OCP of Manila; three cases for violation of the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTL Act) and/or Anti-Dummy law; and a deportation case.

C arpio entered his appearance as counsel for the complainants in the cases for violations of the RTL Act and/or of the Anti-Dummy Law, while Padernal was the counsel for Burch in the collection case, estafa, and the cyber libel case.

H e also represented another complainant against the Honeggers in the deportation case.

T he two lawyers maintained that the cases against the Honeggers were not frivolous as they were based on legitimate grievances on the allegations of their clients.

On January 15, 2021, the IBP-CBD issued a report and recommendation dismissing Alfredo and Lumenaria’ s complaint.

I n adopting the findings of the IBP-CBD, the High Court held that the complainants failed to prove that the cases filed against them

were baseless and meant to merely harass them. The SC said a review of the submissions Padernal and Carpio would show that the said cases were validly filed.

“ Indeed, the mere filing and prosecution by Attys. Padernal and Carpio of multiple suits against Alfredo and Lumenaria do not, by themselves, constitute unethical conduct deserving of administrative sanction,” the SC said in a sevenpage resolution.

To be sure, Attys. Padernal and Carpio are allowed to resort to any and all legal means, including the institution of appropriate cases, to protect the interests of their clients or seek redress on their behalf,” it added.

I n fact, the SC pointed out, lawyers are expected under the Code of Professional Responsibility to exhaust all legal means possible to address the grievances of their clients.

“ In the absence of any indication that the suits against Alfredo and Lumenaria have been filed or prosecuted with bad faith, or on the basis of concocted claims or baseless legal arguments, Attys. Padernal and Carpio cannot be penalized for their resort to remedies allowed by law,” the SC declared.

30 feared dead, 40 rescued as boat capsizes near Metro

THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday reported that around 40 passengers have been rescued while around 30 may have died after a passenger boat capsized in Laguna de Bay off Binangonan, Rizal. I n a spot report, PCG Substation

Binangonan said MBCA Princess Aya capsized about 50 yards away from Barangay Kalinawan in Binangonan. The incident occurred at around 1 p.m. when the motorized boat was battered by strong winds that caused passengers to panic and group to its

port side, causing it to capsize. It noted that the number of individuals rescued and casualties are not yet finalized and are still being checked. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing in the area. PNA

Jonathan L. Mayuga

SUPERTYPHOON “Egay” veered out of the country on Thursday but left a large swathe of destruction, with areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao still swamped in floodwater and without power.

‘Gibo’ unveils DND’s thrust for ‘credible deterrent posture’ and disaster response

SC junks admin complaint vs VP Duterte’s hubby, another lawyer

Loyzaga

Program seeks to nourish preggy women in three Sorsogon towns

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S)

Notice is hereby given that the following companies/employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for

1 Building, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

13

Lot 2, Block 10, Phase 1, Cavite Economic Zone, Tejeros Convention, Rosario, Cavite

14 CPO ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES INC. Block 6-09 Amplefield SME Park, J.P. Rizal Ave., Lima Technology Center, Bugtong Na Pulo, City of Lipa, Batangas

Job Description:

Contribute to strategic planning and decision-making so that the technology strategy is aligned with the long-term vision, mission and objectives of the organization

MURAYAMA, SHOICHI Operations Consultant

Brief Job Description:

Responsible for initiating change and supporting clients to improve the productivity and effectiveness of their internal operation

GUY, JOSEPHINE JANE

15 DYSON ELECTRONICS PTE. LTD.-PHILIPPINE BRANCH

Lot C3-13, Carmelray Industrial Park II, Km 54 National Highway, Punta, City of Calamba, Laguna

16 HYS METAL PLASTIC AND ELECTRONICS (PHILIPPINES) INC.

Amplefield SME Park, J.P. Rizal Ave., Lima Technology Center, Bugtong Na Pulo, City of Lipa, Batangas

17 KAERTECH ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES INC. Bldg. 3, EZP Compound, Laguna Technopark Annex, Biñan, City of Biñan, Laguna

Senior HR Business Consultant

Brief Job Description: Develop and transfer knowledge to the local HR team in alignment with the global HR vision

TATSUNO, YUKIO

NCT/Laser Cut Technical Consultant

Brief Job Description: Plan and coordinate production process on daily basis to produce high quality products

GAO, XIANGJUN

Sourcing and RFQ Manager

Brief Job Description: Support supply chain department for delivery and shipment activities

Basic Qualification: Must possess at least Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent

Salary Range: Php150,000Php499,999

Basic Qualification: With 5-10-years work experience in manufacturing operation

Salary Range: Php30,000Php59,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related field

Salary Range: Php150,000Php499,999

Basic Qualification: Must have experience in Manufacturing of NCT/Laser Cut industry

Salary Range: Php60,000Php89,999

Basic Qualification: Must have at least 3 years in sourcing and RFQ, has background in supply chain

Salary Range: Php60,000 –Php89,999

18 KATOLEC PHILIPPINES CORPORATION 103 East Main Avenue, Laguna Technopark, Malamig, City of Biñan, Laguna

KINOSHITA, YUICHIRO

Purchasing Assistant Manager

Brief Job Description: Assist the Purchasing Manager in the effective & efficient management of the purchasing & warehouse sections

Basic Qualification: Graduate of Economics and has 5-year experience in purchasing & material control

Salary Range: Php90,000Php149,999

19 MMS BULKSHIP MANAGEMENT (PHILIPPINES), INC.

Room 302 Mms Bldg., Old Nia Road, Bayanan, City of Bacoor, Cavite

FUJII, KEI Ship Management Consultant

Brief Job Description: Help the company to resolve management issues, with charterers and shipowners, create company core values, maximize growth and improve business performance

Basic Qualification: Has more than ten years work experience in ship management; Fluent in Japanese language

Salary Range: Php90,000Php149,999

20 MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

YE LIN HTET Burmese Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read and write Chinese and Burmese language

Salary Range: Php30,000Php59,999

Fed raises interest rates to 22-year high and leaves door open for more

By Steve Matthews

THE Federal Reserve resumed raising interest rates and Chair Jerome Powell left open the possibility of further hikes, which he emphasized will depend on incoming data that has recently signaled a resilient US economy.

After pausing rate increases in June, policymakers lifted borrowing costs again at their policy meeting on Wednesday for the 11th time since March 2022 to curb inflation. The quarter percentage-point hike, a unanimous decision, boosted the target range for the Fed’s benchmark federal funds rate to 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent, the highest level in 22 years.

While Powell pointed to encouraging signs that the Fed’s rate hikes are working to curb price pressures, he reiterated that policymakers have a long way to go to return inflation to their 2 percent goal.

T he Fed chief refused to be pinned down on when officials may hike again, citing a raft of economic reports due before the Fed’s next meeting in September, including two jobs reports, two reports on consumer-price inflation and data on employment costs.

All of that information is going to inform our decision as we go into that meeting,” he said. “It is certainly possible that we would raise [rates] again at the September meeting, if the data warranted. And I would also say it’s possible that we would choose to hold steady at that meeting.”

Markets took the decision in stride. As Powell spoke, stocks advanced while Treasury yields and the dollar fell.

Swaps traders held fairly steady the probability they see of the Fed hiking rates by an additional quarter point before year’s end. The pricing implies just slightly over 50 percent chance of another bump higher before the Fed tightening cycle ends.

“The default at this point is that the Fed is going to go again—at least once more,” said Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander US Capital Markets. “But the timing is open and will depend on the data. He emphasized yet again that the Fed is taking things on a meeting by

meeting basis.”

The Fed has since early last year engaged in the most aggressive tightening campaign since the 1980s in an effort to curb inflation, which in 2022 hit a 40-year high. While policymakers paused rate hikes last month to assess the impact of previous moves, they also signaled at the time that two more increases would probably be appropriate by the end of the year.

“While the lack of substantive changes to the policy statement suggests the majority of officials still want to keep the door open for another rate hike, Chair Jerome Powell’s somewhat dovish performance at the post-meeting news conference suggests a willingness to skip a hike at the September meeting, provided inflation data continue to be soft,” said Anna Wong, Bloomberg’s chief US economist. The latest hike was widely anticipated after recent reports showed an economy that has largely withstood higher interest rates so far. But ahead of Wednesday’s decision, investors saw a second increase as less certain, in part because of data on consumer prices showing inflation receded sharply last month.

The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee said it would “continue to assess additional information” in a statement after the meeting that was almost identical to its previous statement in June.

O fficials will be looking for moderate growth, cooling inflation and supply and demand coming into better balance, particularly in the labor market, as they assess whether and when to raise rates again, Powell said.

“What our eyes are telling us is policy has not been restrictive enough for long enough to have its full desired effects,” he said. “We intend again to keep policy restrictive until we’re confident that inflation is coming down sustainably to our 2 percent target, and we’re prepared to further tighten if that is appropriate. And we think the process still probably has a long way to go.”

Assessment upgraded

THE FOMC in its statement Wednesday repeated its description of inflation as

“elevated,” and upgraded its description of economic growth to “moderate” from “modest.” It reiterated that the banking sector is “sound and resilient,” while cautioning that credit tightening is expected to weigh on the economy following the failures of three US regional banks earlier this year.

While June’s consumer-price report showed inflation decelerating to 3 percent from last year’s 9.1 percent peak, policymakers have expressed concern about so-called “core” inflation, excluding food and energy, which has been slower to come down. They have singled out servicesector inflation in particular as a category they believe remains elevated due to tight labor markets.

Fed officials have also been surprised by the resilience of economic growth.

Forecasters expect a quarterly report on gross domestic product due Thursday to show the US economy expanded by an annualized 1.8 percent in the April to June period. Some Wall Street economists have pushed back calls for a recession this year in light of the ongoing strength in economic activity alongside receding price pressures.

Powell said Wednesday that Fed staff economists are no longer forecasting a recession in 2023 given the resilience of the economy recently, but are still anticipating a noticeable slowdown in growth starting later this year.

“

The data justified a move up in the funds rate, given growth was stronger than expected and the labor market continues to be strong,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. “They didn’t want to back off from hiking based on one better inflation reading. They need to see a sustained easing in price pressures.”

The FOMC next meets on September 19 to 20 and subsequently on October 31-November 1. Powell will also have an opportunity to clarify the central bank’s view on the future path of rates at the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in late August. With assistance from Chris Middleton and Liz Capo McCormick/Bloomberg

Gasoline is surging all over the world in fresh inflation blow

By Elizabeth Low, Chunzi Xu & Rachel Graham

THE price of gasoline is starting to surge everywhere, an inflationary omen for central banks and governments the world over.

Futures just soared to a nine-month high in New York, sending shock waves through to the pump, while prices have also been rising in Asia. Markets for the motor fuel have tightened worldwide due to a combination of unexpected refinery outages plus lower-than-normal stockpiles in key storage hubs such as the US Gulf Coast and Singapore for this time of the year.

In global energy markets, it’s telling that while crude oil futures are little changed year-to-date, US gasoline contracts have rallied by more than 20 percent. The resurgence in gasoline potentially poses a headache for central banks including the US Federal Reserve as policymakers grapple with the problem of how much more monetary tightening, if any, is needed to bring inflation to heel.

Gasoline prices are often a topic of contention as those costs can be an essential daily expense for many, alongside food and rent. Energy prices are one of the many factors that have contributed to surging inflation globally. In the US, reining in prices at the pump will also be a crucial issue for President Joe Biden with the next election just over a year away, especially after he ordered the sale of a huge chunk of the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve last summer.

“Higher energy costs may push up consumer prices and lead to renewed goods inflation — a sector where price increases have slowed,” said Andrew Hollenhorst, chief US economist at Citigroup Inc. For perspective, a one-cent rise in a gallon of gasoline in the US takes away about $1.15 billion annualized spending power, according to Brett Ryan, senior economist at Deutsche Bank AG. That

means the $1.30 a gallon drop in the second quarter saved consumers $150 billion, and that’s money they could spend on other goods and services. Now, this tailwind could turn into a headwind and drag on spending should prices continue to rise materially, Ryan said.

Global strength

LOW inventories and high demand across key regions are driving prices higher around the world. In Europe, gasoline prices are rising faster than crude, although this trend has yet to fully translate to higher costs at the pump. Meanwhile, conditions in the Singapore market, a key Asian hub, have also firmed on lower-than-expected Chinese exports. In many emerging markets, that translates into a heavier burden for governments given many have fuel subsidies in place to buffer costs for poorer citizens.

Global gasoline supply has failed to recover significantly from historically low levels despite additions of refining capacity in the Middle East and China. Even the US had the biggest expansion in more than a decade, and that’s before another refinery slated to shut by year-end got an unexpected extension.

These expansions haven’t been enough to offset a string of unplanned outages including Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Baton Rouge unit in the US, Shell Plc’s Pernis site in Rotterdam and ENEOS Holdings Inc.’s’ Mizushima facility in Japan. These disruptions tightened supplies at a time when inventories are still low.

Refining systems across the world are more susceptible to outages after running hard for years, according to Callum Bruce, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. In addition, a wave of record-breaking heat in Europe and parts of Asia is also making it harder to run lighter crudes, he said.

In China, the largest crude importer, a range of indicators point to buoyant demand. Congestion levels in the 15 cities

with the most car registrations have risen by about a quarter compared with January 2021, according to data from Baidu Inc. tracked by BloombergNEF. At the same time, commercial gasoline inventories have been estimated at the lowest since at least 2019.

China’s gasoline demand is forecast at around 3.3 million barrels a day in July, according to estimates by Rystad Energy. That’s 14 percent higher than in the same month of 2019, the last year before Covid restrictions decimated consumption.

European quandary IN Europe, gasoline usage has been rebounding too, with France, Germany, Spain and Italy all posting year-on-year increases in consumption. At the same time, the region is still feeling the supply pinch from sanctions on Russia that deprived local refiners of crude and other raw materials for gasoline.

The loss of heavy naphtha from Russia, for example, has led to a dearth of feedstock for gasoline-making units known as reformers. That has led to a squeeze in components that add to the octane rating of gasoline, ultimately squeezing the supply of gasoline that is suitable for European cars, according to Sparta Commodities.

Switching away from Russia’s flagship Urals grade to lighter American crude has led to an excess of light naphtha, which can be blended into gasoline but requires other components such as reformate. This dynamic has further lifted the cost of premium gasoline, which calls for more reformate.

The supply of gasoline has also been constrained by the recent counterseasonal strengthening in diesel, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. That had prompted refiners to boost production of the fuel at the expense of gasoline, said Mark Williams, research director at the consulting firm. With assistance from Catarina Saraiva, Sarah Chen, Bill Lehane, Serene Cheong and Devika Krishna Kumar/Bloomberg

51.

maintain JTI business applications, security patches and service packs on client workstations across all JTI markets.

Job

Establish efficient communication, cooperation, and close working relationship with the authorities of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand in the Philippines. Liaise with relevant Government Departments together with local Admin officers and be the representative on behalf of Thai national employees in the future to ensure that will be able to work in the country supported with visas, work permits, and other administrative requirements.

Macron seeks bigger French say in Pacific as China’s clout grows

By Ania Nussbaum & Rebecca Choong Wilkins

Anwar unveils plan to reset Malaysia’s growth trajectory

By Anisah Shukry

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Anwar

“The sovereignty of many states, often the smallest and most fragile, is threatened by new imperialisms and power dynamics,” the French president said in Vanuatu, an archipelago where Beijing has built roads, stadiums and even a parliament building. He cited illegal maritime patrols and predatory loans, without mentioning China explicitly.  China and the US have sought to build influence in the region, an area that would facilitate military access to Taiwan in a conflict. The US has pledged to prevent Beijing from bringing the democratically run island under control by force.

Macron wants Paris to act as a balancing force but he doesn’t have the diplomatic or military might of the two superpowers.

So he’s racing to define France’s role and what it can offer to small island-nations threatened by climate change.

Macron’s main stop in the re -

gion earlier this week was New Caledonia, a French territory that’s key to French strategy. He’ll then head to Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka—a first for a French president—Friday. Meanwhile, his Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire travels to China this weekend to boost economic ties, meeting with representatives from carmaker BYD Co. in the hope that it will build a car plant in France.

“If independence means that tomorrow you’ll decide to have a Chinese base here, or to be dependent on another maritime fleet, good luck with that—that’s no independence!” Macron told crowds in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, on Wednesday, after some pro-independence leaders refused to meet with him.

Vanuatu has previously denied media reports from 2018 that China planned to build a military base on the island.

After departing the archipelago

that France took possession of in the 19th century, Macron in Vanuatu denounced the “hegemony or imperialism” of “some great neighboring powers” that are offering alliances in exchange for investments. France will soon open an embassy in the Samoa islands, a first embassy in Polynesia, a development agency office in Vanuatu, and deploy 200 more soldiers and upgrade defense equipment in New Caledonia, Macron said.

Macron’s government was stunned in 2021 when Australia scrapped a massive submarine deal with Paris to enter a defense alliance with the US and the UK dubbed “AUKUS.” The snub effectively put the brakes on French ambitions in the zone, and reinforced a perception that France should remain independent from US policy when it comes to Taiwan.

Tightrope

MACRON is walking on a tightrope. He’s trying to assert France’s interests in the region, where some 1.5 million of its citizens live and with a military presence in overseas territories including New Caledonia, Wallis-and-Futuna, and Mayotte. He has also said Europe shouldn’t be a “vassal” to the US on Taiwan policy, or to China.

Macron has repeatedly sought to strike a middle path between China and the US, warning against a split in the global order. One official in Macron’s office said France doesn’t have an anti-China policy but wants to propose an alternative model in the area, with the backing of regional powers such

as India or Australia.  Paris needs to clarify how it would cooperate with allies in case of a high-intensity conflict in the region, argues Celine Pajon, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations.

“In the event of an invasion, the US would necessarily be at the forefront of the military response. France and Europe would act first and foremost through diplomatic and economic sanctions,” Pajon said in an interview. “France does, however, have military capabilities and a degree of interoperability with its Asian and American partners that could enable it to intervene in the area, should the need arise.”

While French officials have privately expressed worries about China’s growing influence in the region, China has had varying degrees of success in its attempts to boost diplomatic ties in the Indo-Pacific over the past decade. It failed to secure a sweeping deal with 10 Pacific nations during a visit by then Foreign Minister Wang Yi last year. The proposal was shelved after push back from regional leadership.

France is the European Union country with the biggest presence in the Indo-Pacific, including 93% of its exclusive economic zone where it can exploit maritime resources. New Caledonia is believed to hold as much as a quarter of the world’s reserves of nickel, a key metal for electric cars at the heart of the green energy transition. With assistance from Alfred Cang and Jenni Marsh/Bloomberg

Kim meets with Russian defense minister on military cooperation

By Kim Tong-Hyung

The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—North

Korean leader Kim Jong Un

met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said Thursday as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and reached a consensus on unspecified “matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment.”

During the meeting, Shoigu conveyed to Kim a “warm and good letter” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA said. The report did not specify the military matters that were discussed.

In a rare case of diplomatic opening since the start of the pandemic, North Korea invited delegations from Russia and China to attend the events marking the armistice of July 27, 1953. While the truce left the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war, the North still sees it as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.”

KCNA said Kim also took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea’s newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country’s military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim and Shoigu walking near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks.

Some of the weapons in the images appeared to be intercontinental ballistic missiles that the

North has flight-tested in recent years as it pursues an arsenal that can pose a viable threat to the continental United States. Kim and Shoigu also walked past what were possibly new surveillance and attack drones that had not been publicly announced by the North.

Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean military was analyzing the military assets shown in the North Korean photos but did not share specific assessments.

The North Korean festivities were widely expected to be capped later Thursday by a giant military parade in Pyongyang, where Kim could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles. State media, however, had not confirmed plans for a military parade.

Some experts say North Korea sees US confrontations with China and Russia over regional influence and the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert itself into a united front against Washington. The last time North Korea

invited foreign government delegates for a military parade was in February 2018, when it held a low-key event that excluded Kim’s ICBMs. North Korea at the time was initiating diplomacy with Seoul and Washington as Kim attempted to leverage his nukes for badly needed economic benefits.

Those efforts led to a summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump that June, but the diplomacy collapsed after their second meeting in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Kim has since ramped up the development of the nuclear arms that he sees as his strongest guarantee of survival while berating “gangster-like” US sanctions and pressure.

Beijing’s delegation to North Korea is headed by mid-level official Li Hongzhong, a politburo member of China’s ruling Communist Party.

KCNA said senior North Korean officials led by Choe Ryong Hae,

Ibrahim unveiled a plan Thursday to reset the Southeast Asian economy’s growth trajectory, with an eye on boosting incomes and participation of women in the workforce while lowering the budget deficit to reduce stress on government finances.

The plan involves attracting companies that create high-income jobs for locals with tax breaks, boost manufacturing and implement reforms to make its stock markets attractive, Anwar said in his speech on the 10-year plan in Kuala Lumpur.

The key outcomes he is targeting are: achieving a fiscal deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product or lower, placing Malaysia among the top 30 global economies and improving its human development index ranking to the top 25.

“ My utmost priority in the near term is to rebuild the country’s fiscal capacity. We are all aware of the national debt situation,” Anwar said, referring to government debt at over 60 percent of GDP. “Without any reforms, we will face a very serious crisis that would undoubtedly affect the country’s structure.”

The state of the economy has been a major theme as six key states head to the polls on August 12. Elevated inflation, a weak ringgit, stagnant wages and slowing growth could weigh on Anwar’s chances as he faces his biggest public vote of confidence since coming to power after a divisive general election in November.

Political stability is key to narrowing the budget deficit sustainably, as also lowering the government’s net debt to below 60 percent of GDP, according to S&P Global Ratings, which last month reaffirmed Malaysia’s ‘A-’ investment-grade credit score.

Anwar’s multi-racial unity government must win at least three of the six poll-bound

states in the contest against the conservative Malay federal opposition alliance. Anything worse could prompt Anwar’s newfound allies to reassess their support, potentially jeopardizing his efforts to slash subsidies and the fiscal deficit.

Alongside reducing the fiscal gap, Anwar aims to boost economic growth to 6 percent in the short-term.

Malaysia’s economy expanded at a more moderate pace in recent months, as slowing external demand weighed down on exports, according to the central bank. The government expects the economy to expand from 4 percent to 5 percent in 2023, a far cry from last year when it took the mantle of the fastest growing economy in Asia.

“If we’re satisfied with the current situation, the economy will continue to record growth of between 4 percent to 5 percent,” Anwar said. “However, if we work hard and implement reforms, we can achieve 5.5 percent, in fact I believe it is not impossible for us to achieve 6 percent growth in the near term.”

Some key points from the economic plan:

n Adults earning below 100,000 ringgit to get 100 ringgit e-cash credits. More than 10 million people to be eligible for the benefit.

n To boost digitalization grant by 100 million ringgit to support business automation.

n Set aside 100 million ringgit for infrastructure in industrial/green zones.

n To reduce share-lot size and enable fractional trading to boost retail participation in equity market.

n To loosen MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa program rules and make it easier for tourists to get visa on arrival.

n To set aside 5 billion ringgit to provide financing guarantees to first-time buyers on homes worth up to 300,000 ringgit. With assistance from Clarissa Batino/Bloomberg

Mutinous soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

By Sam Mednick The Associated Press

and the Islamic State group.

chairman of the standing committee of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, held a reception for Li’s delegation in Pyongyang on Wednesday at which they honored Chinese soldiers who died while fighting alongside the North Koreans during the war.

Li said in a speech at the event that China is ready to promote the “sound and stable” development in relations with the North, KCNA said.

Analysts say Kim sharing the center stage with Shoigu and Li at a military parade would be a key accomplishment he could show to his domestic audience as well as a statement of defiance toward the United States.

On Wednesday, Shoigu also held talks with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam that were aimed at “strengthening cooperation between our defense departments,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

KCNA reported that at a reception hosted by Kang, Shoigu praised the North Korean People’s army under the leadership of Kim, saying it “has become the strongest army in the world.” Russian media reports did not include that comment.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the US-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. The Biden administration has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine, although the North has denied the claim.

Both Moscow and Beijing have been derailing US efforts to strengthen UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea over its flurry of missile

NIAMEY, Niger—Mutinous soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president, announcing on state television late Wednesday that they have put an end to the government over the African country’s deteriorating security. The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation. They urged external partners not to interfere.

The announcement came after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.

“This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said on the video. Seated at a table in front of nine other officers, he said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was imposed until the situation stabilized.

The group, which is calling itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.

Earlier Wednesday, a tweet from the account of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit engaged in an “antiRepublican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces. It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.

The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the events as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years ago in the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

Threats to Bazoum’s leadership would undermine the West’s efforts to stabilize Africa’s Sahel region, which has been overrun with coups in recent years. Mali and Burkina Faso have had four coups since 2020, and both are being overrun by extremists linked to al-Qaida

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March, seeking to strengthen ties with a country where extremists have carried out attacks on civilians and military personnel but the overall security situation was not as dire as in neighboring nations.

During a stop in New Zealand on Thursday, Blinken repeated the US condemnation of the mutiny against Niger’s president and said his team was in close contact with officials in France and Africa.

Blinken added that he had spoken with Bazoum on Wednesday, saying that he “made clear that we strongly support him as the democratically elected president of the country.”

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the mutiny was a “nightmare scenario for Western powers who had betted on Bazoum and Niger as new security anchor for the Sahel.”

“It remains to be seen whether this is the last word. Parts of the army are probably still loyal to Bazoum. They benefited much from equipment and training as part of foreign military assistance,” Laessing said.

Before the announcement, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No coup d’etat” while marching in support of the president. Multiple rounds of gunfire that appeared to come from the presidential palace dispersed the demonstrators and sent people scrambling for cover, according to an The Associated Press reporter at the scene.

“We are here to show the people that we are not happy about this movement going on, just to show these military people that they can’t just take the power like this,” protester Mohammed Sidi said. “We are a democratic country, we support democracy and we don’t need this kind of movement.”

The international community strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Bazoum on Wednesday afternoon and “expressed his full support and solidarity,” the UN spokesperson tweeted.

T he Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

EMMANUEL MACRON

slammed what he called the imperialism of neighboring powers on a visit to the South Pacific, seeking to promote France as a balancing force in a region with strategic significance to both China and the US.

tests.

IN this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim JongUn, right, with Russian delegation led by its Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visits an arms exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads:

is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency.

Biden to announce new steps to protect workers from extreme heat as record temperatures persist

By Chris Megerian, Drew Costley & Matthew Daly

The Associated Press

He’ll be joined by the leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the heat wave as “a difficult time” and said Biden was treating climate change with “the urgency it requires.”

The Democratic president is directing the Department of Labor to increase inspections of potentially dangerous workplaces such as farms and construction sites. He also wants heightened enforcement of heat safety violations.

As part of the initiative, the department will issue a hazard alert notifying employers and employees about ways to stay protected from extreme heat, which has killed 436 workers since 2011, according to federal statistics.

The Biden administration plans to spend $7 million to develop more detailed weather predictions to an -

ticipate extreme weather like heat waves, plus $152 million to boost drinking water infrastructure and climate resilience in California, Colorado, and Washington.

The mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio, two cities that have suffered from the heat waves, are expected to participate in the White House event virtually.

Phoenix has seen at least 26 days in a row of temperatures exceeding 110 degrees. Maricopa County, where the city is located, reported recently that there were 18 heatassociated deaths between April 11 and July 15. Another 69 deaths remain under investigation. There were 425 heat-associated deaths in the county last year.

San Antonio saw 15 straight days of 100-plus degrees. At least 13 deaths in Texas have been blamed on the extreme heat.

Thursday’s announcement follows other steps that the Biden administration has taken to adapt

to increasing threats from extreme heat. Among those it is highlighting:

The Department of Labor is developing a standard for how workplaces deal with heat. The proposed rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would require employers to provide adequate water and rest breaks to outdoor workers, as well as medical services and training to address signs and symptoms of heat-related illness. OSHA is holding meetings this summer to hear comments on how the heat standard would affect small businesses.

To keep low-income populations cool, the Department of Health and Human Services expanded its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to provide more access to air conditioning and cooling centers such as libraries, senior cen -

ters or other public buildings. The Environmental Protection Agency also has provided assistance to help communities develop cooling centers within schools.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been helping cities and towns map “heat islands” with dense buildings and fewer trees, and the Department of Agriculture issued guidance for creating more tree canopy coverage, which helps with cooling environments.

In addition, the administration launched a website called heat.gov with interactive maps, weather forecasts and tips for keeping cool amid record-breaking heat.

More than 100 members of Congress, led by Democratic Reps. Greg Casar and Sylvia Garcia of Texas and Judy Chu of California have called on the administration to

implement the new heat standard for outdoor workers as quickly as possible.

“We know extreme weather events such as heat waves are becoming more frequent and more dangerous due to climate change. Urgent action is needed to prevent more deaths,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Monday.

The United Farm Workers and other groups also called on OSHA to immediately issue a nationwide rule protecting outdoor workers after farm worker deaths this month in Florida and Arizona.

“Farm workers need and deserve the access to shade, water and paid breaks,’’ said UFW President Teresa Romero. “How many more workers will we let dangerous heat and callous employers kill before this nation acts?”

Douglas Parker, assistant Labor secretary for occupational safety and health, called heat illness prevention a top priority. As OSHA works toward a final rule, the agency is enhancing enforcement efforts “to make sure employers and workers understand the dangers of heat illness and how to prevent it,’’

Parker said in a statement.

Casar, a freshman lawmaker from Austin, staged a “thirst strike” on Tuesday outside the U.S. Capitol, forgoing water breaks for nearly nine hours, to protest a new Texas law that bans local governments from requiring water breaks and other safety measures for outdoor workers. Casar called the law “insane” and accused Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of being “on the wrong side of history.’’

At least 42 workers died in

Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Democrats are going to stand up for common sense and for working people,” Casar said.

Ladd Keith, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona who studies heat policy and governance, said the record-breaking heat much of the nation is experiencing “is very much in line with climate change projections.” While not surprising, “they’re certainly a continuation of a concerning trend of climate impacts that we’ve seen,” he said.

Despite the recent headlines, rising temperatures have typically not received the same level of attention as other climate risks, such as flooding and wildfires, Keith said.

“Heat has just not been a topic at the national level or local level that we’ve even considered addressing until the last couple of years,” he said.

However, Keith said the administration has ramped up its focus because of searing weather events, such as the heat dome in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 that prompted record temperatures and dozens of deaths across the region.

OSHA fined a Florida farm supervisor last month for exposing workers to excessive heat after a worker from Mexico died at a farm in Parkland, Florida. Investigators determined the worker’s death could have been prevented if a labor contractor had followed established safety practices regarding heat-related hazards.

Costley reported from New Orleans.

Ukraine launches major push against Russian forces–officials and analysts

By Hanna Arhirova

The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from the country’s southeast as part of its weekslong counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the region of Zaporizhzhia, a Western official said late Wednesday.

The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the

1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line as Ukraine deploys Western-supplied advanced weapons and Westerntrained troops against the deeply entrenched Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.

Ukrainian officials have been mostly silent about battlefield developments since they began early counteroffensive operations, though Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhizhia region.

Though that movement could be a tactical feint, and both governments have used disinformation to gain battlefield advantages, such a maneuver would be in line with what some analysts had predicted.

They envisioned a counteroffensive

that would try to punch through the land corridor between Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, moving towards Melitopol, which is close to the coast of the Azov Sea.

That could split Russian forces into two halves and cut off supply lines to the units that are located further to the west.

The intense fighting is taking place in areas in the south and east of Ukraine, far from the capital Kyiv, and it was not possible to verify either side’s claims.

The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday, adding

that they “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.”

It cited Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense and several prominent Russian military bloggers. US officials, who have provided Kyiv with weapons and intelligence, declined to comment on the latest developments, though they have previously urged patience as Ukraine seeks to grind down the deep Russian defenses featuring minefields, trenches and anti-tank obstacles.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Papua New Guinea that Kyiv’s effort to retake land seized by Russia since its February 2022 fullscale invasion would be “tough” and “long,” with successes and setbacks.

Army fire kills 14-year-old, Palestinians say, as Israeli minister visits flashpoint holy site

By Tia Goldenberg & Isaac Scharf

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM—Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, as an extremist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that has been a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the disputed hilltop compound comes as Israel and the Palestinians are locked in a year-and-a-half long bout of fighting and could enflame already surging tensions. It also drew condemnation from neighboring Jordan and from Palestinians who view such visits as provocative. The site is revered by Jews and Muslims, and the competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Early Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 14-year-old Fares

Sharhabil Abu Samra was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank town of Qalqilya.

The Israeli military said Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at troops, who responded by firing into the air. It said the incident was being reviewed.

Ben-Gvir was joining what will likely to be hundreds of Jews visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning and repentance when Jews reflect on the destruction of the First and Second Temples, key events in Jewish history.

“This is the most important place for the people of Israel which we must return to and show our rule,” Ben-Gvir said in a video released by his office, with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Affairs Ministry warned that the government and extremists like Ben-Gvir would “push things toward religious war” by “provoking the feelings of Muslims all over the world.” The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it considered Ben-Gvir’s visit to

the sacred compound as an attempt to impose Israeli sovereignty over the site.

Jordan, which acts as a custodian over the site and has a peace agreement with Israel, said such visits along with other Israeli steps in Jerusalem “threaten to trigger new cycles of violence.”

Ben-Gvir, a former West Bank settler leader and far-right activist who years ago was convicted of incitement and supporting a Jewish terror group, now serves as Israel’s national security minister, overseeing the country’s police force.

Thursday was Ben-Gvir’s third known visit to the contested site since becoming a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism, where the biblical Temples once stood. Today, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the thirdholiest site in Islam.

Police said they had arrested or detained 16 people for violating “visitation regulations” at the site. Under longstanding arrangements, Jews are

permitted to visit the site, but not to pray there. But in recent years, a growing number of Jewish visitors have begun to quietly pray, raising fears among Palestinians that Israel is plotting to divide or take over the site. Ben-Gvir has long called for increased Jewish access. His visit could enflame already surging tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, who have been engaged in months of fighting that have sparked the worst violence in nearly two decades in the West Bank.

Since early last year, Israel has been staging near-nightly raids into Palestinian areas, which it says are meant to stamp out militancy and thwart future attacks. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting this year, according to a tally by TheAssociatedPress.

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “an intense battle” is taking place but declined to provide details.

“We believe that tools, the equipment, the training, the advice that many of us have shared with Ukrainians over many months put them in good position to be successful on the ground in recovering more of the territory

that Russia has taken from Ukraine,” Blinken said during a visit to New Zealand.

Aamer Madhani in Washington D.C., Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia and Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand contributed.

WITH Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team in the background, a digital billboard updates the time and temperature as temperatures are expected to hit 116-degrees on July 18, 2023, in Phoenix. President Joe Biden plans to announce new steps to address the extreme heat that has threatened millions of Americans, most recently in the Southwest. AP/ROSS D. FRANKLIN

WASHINGTON—With millions of Americans facing broiling heat across the Southwest, President Joe Biden on Thursday plans to announce new steps to protect workers, improve weather forecasts, and make drinking water more accessible, the White House says.

Gaining greater public trust in the government

IN his second SONA on Monday, President Marcos shared with the nation the government’s blueprint to enhance the country’s physical connectivity infrastructure. He said: “One of the keys to continuing economic growth is infrastructure development. So, we will build better, and more. Our P8.3-trillion “Build Better More” Program is currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.”

“Physical connectivity infrastructure—such as roads, bridges, seaports, airports, and mass transport—accounts for 83 percent of this program. Our infrastructure spending will stay at 5 to 6 percent of our GDP,” the President said. “The underlying logic to our infrastructure development is economic efficiency. We are opening up all gateways to mobilize goods and services at less cost and in less time, and ultimately, to drive the economy forward.”

Marcos said the country’s road network plans must link not only our three major islands, but also all prospective sites of economic development. “The 1,200-kilometer Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program will effectively connect Ilocos to Bicol from 20 hours to just 9 hours of travel,” he said.

“Under the Mega-Bridge Program, 12 bridges totaling 90 kilometers will be constructed, connecting islands and areas separated by waters. The Program includes the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges, each spanning 32 kilometers, and also the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge.”

The President reported that as of June this year, the government has constructed, maintained, and upgraded more than 4,000 kilometers of roads and around 500 bridges across the country. Crucial airport and port development projects across the country have also been completed, including Cebu’s Pier 88 smart port, and the new passenger terminal buildings of Clark Airport and the Port of Calapan.

Marcos said inter-modal connectivity will also be a primary consideration. Roads, bridges and mass transport systems will be interconnected. This network will provide access and passage to vital and bustling economic markets, such as agriculture hubs, tourism sites, and key business districts.

Echoing the President’s statement on the promotion of interconnected transportation across the country, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the agency is speeding up the development of transportation infrastructure projects. He said the DOTr will focus on the development of efficient public transportation to encourage private car owners to use it. (Read, “DOTr rushing infrastructure for transportation, to focus on public modes of mobility,” in the BusinessMirror, July 26, 2023).

“The department will speed up the momentum in completing more transport infrastructures and projects aimed at moving more people, products, and services and trigger economic growth,” Bautista said at the 2023 Post-State of the Nation Address Briefing on Tuesday. He listed some of the priority projects as the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension, the Metro Rail Transit Lines 4 and 7, and the Metro Manila Subway.

Also included in the list are public road transport projects such as the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit and Davao Public Transport Modernization Project , along with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Project, Active Transport, and Edsa Busway.

Aside from mass transport infrastructure, the DOTr is also putting a premium on airports such as the redevelopment of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the Clark International Airport, the New Manila International Airport, and the Sangley Point International Airport. The Department of Public Works and Highways has also committed to speed up infrastructure development, with Secretary Manuel Bonoan highlighting increased budget utilization and disbursement rate.

Bonoan cited several projects and programs with different levels of implementation: The Philippine High Standard Highway Network Program, the Luzon Spine Expressway Network Program, the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Program, and the Inter-Island Linkage Bridge Program.

As the President has said, improving our infrastructure is crucial in our push to become an upper middle-income country by 2025. The government’s big-ticket infrastructure projects, when completed, are expected to bring important benefits to the Philippine economy and to the lives of ordinary citizens. Better transportation would help farmers bring their produce to markets and raise the income of the rural population. Improvements in the quality of infrastructure services will help cut the cost of doing business, attract more investment, and enhance productivity around the country. Insufficient infrastructure has been a major constraint to economic growth and poverty reduction in the Philippines, according to the World Bank. With the Marcos administration’s development plan focused on investments through public-private partnerships to address key bottlenecks, quick gains in service delivery is expected. This will ultimately translate into greater public trust in the government.

A forward-looking SONA

sonny M. angara

Better Days

LISteNING to the one hour and a half second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., we looked back at what the administration has done in its first full year in office and its plans for the coming year. emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, the start of the Marcos presidency was challenging, to say the least. At the end of 2021, the country’s unemployment rate stood at 7.8 percent. By the end of 2022, this went down to 5.4 percent. the tourism sector, which was among the sectors that suffered the most during the pandemic, has also rebounded from its slump. For the first half of 2023, the President reported that we have received three million international visitors. this represents 62 percent of the 4.8 million target for the entire year.

Inflation continued to ease from 8.7 percent in January 2023 to 5.4 percent in June. In 2022, our economy grew by 7.6 percent. In the first quarter, the growth rate was pegged at 6.4 percent. The President noted that we are still within our full-year target of 6 to 7 percent and that we are still considered to be among the

fastest growing economies in Asia and the world.

The right policies, programs and investments must be made, not only to maintain this growth trajectory, but also to build the foundation for sustainable growth in the long term. We were pleased to hear from the President about giving priority

to investments in both public infrastructure and in developing the capacity of the people.

For agriculture, the President talked about boosting agricultural production through consolidation, modernization, mechanization and improvement of value chains. The selection of new infrastructure projects is very timely and forward looking. Included in the list are projects related to digital connectivity, energy, airports, seaports and mass transport.

We thank the President for not losing sight of our health sector and for ensuring the distribution of the allowances due to our healthcare workers, who sacrificed a lot during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our push for innovation as a key component of success for businesses, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) was also given a huge boost with the President’s pronouncement about the need to foster innovation alongside the culture of entrepreneurship. And to ensure that the workforce will be equipped with the skills necessary to fill up the requirements of employers, the President recognized the

Asean employment outlook: The quest for decent work in the platform economy

Availing goods and services through digital platforms remains a customary part of daily life among digital consumers post-pandemic.

SOutHeASt Asia is among the forefront regions on global e-commerce dynamism. estimates show the region’s digital economy tripled from $32 billion in 2015 to $100 billion in 2019. this upward trajectory proved resilient, notwithstanding the lockdowns during the pandemic, as gross merchandise value surged to $170 billion in 2021, and inched close to $200 billion in 2022—doubling its 2019 levels in three years. As governments implement largescale mobility restrictions and social distancing measures, people migrated to digitally-mediated versions of in-person activities, such as videoconferencing, telework, and online shopping.

E-commerce remains the largest contributor to digital economy growth, as more businesses and consumers embrace digital transactions. ERIA estimates Southeast Asia’s e-commerce revenue to grow four times its regional GDP by 2023 relative to 2018 levels, whereas global e-commerce revenue is only projected to grow twice during the same period. Various market analyses likewise estimate the region’s e-commerce to reach $150 billion to $220 billion by 2025.

According to 2022 estimates, digital economy in Southeast Asia reportedly created 160,000 jobs to

date, through e-commerce, transport, food delivery, online travel, online media, and financial services. Moreover, 30 million more job opportunities were indirectly spurred as support to digital platform businesses, including transport driverpartners, food delivery riders, and third-party logistics companies. Digital platforms were estimated to enable more than 20 million merchants to expand their operations online, and a survey found 1 in 3 merchants believe they would not have survived the pandemic without digital platforms.

For example, ride-hailing applications continue to disrupt urban mobility in key cities around the world, and Southeast Asia is no exception. A 2022 Blackbox survey conducted on six Southeast Asian markets found that more than half of respondents recently used ride-hailing applications. This trend is expected to increase as restrictions imposed during the pandemic were relaxed. While the region’s transport-delivery platform market is dominated by Grab and distantly followed by Gojek, various local applications have also sprouted across key urban areas.

The digitally-enabled platform economy has been a critical avenue for income and employment opportunities. It has permitted workers to remain in the workforce during the pandemic. However, the same global health crisis also exposed risks and vulnerabilities. Cases were reported where workers exited platform work due to volatilities in market demand, heightened public health risks, and deficiencies in decent work conditions and social protection provisions.

Against this backdrop, the Asean Employment Outlook aims to investigate emerging issues in the world of work in Southeast Asia. Focusing

need for their continuous reskilling and upskilling.

The digitalization of government will also contribute to the efforts to make it easier to do business in the country while providing our people with better services. The President also promised to improve the country’s Internet infrastructure to improve Internet speed and to provide all parts of the country, including the remote areas with Internet connectivity.

All of these I mentioned in the second SONA of the President are part and parcel of our Tatak Pinoy advocacy, which aims to grow and empower Filipino industries so that they can produce complex, high-quality, high-value products and make them more globally competitive. We thank the President for including our Tatak Pinoy bill among his list of priority legislation for Congress. The recognition by the President of the importance of this measure bodes well for the future of our industries and service providers in their efforts to expand, gain recognition and penetrate the world market.

Tatak Pinoy is about enhancing

See “Angara,” A15

on workers in the platform economy, the Outlook offers a comprehensive analysis on the opportunities and challenges brought by the rise of online labor platforms (OLPs) in the region. Based on available data, the following findings were identified:

a. O LPs became a choice for people looking for secondary and complementary jobs. However, joblookers were not always absorbed because of the competitive nature of these arrangements.

b. T he emergence of the services sector as an engine of growth and structural transformation contributed to the rise of OLPs. However, OLPs only reduced unemployment in countries where capital investment, including digital infrastructure, is substantial.

c. Women in lower-income economies are generally more engaged in OLPs, thereby increasing women participation in labor markets and reducing employment gender disparity. However, gender remuneration equality remains an issue given the observed unequal distribution in work experience, education, and domestic responsibilities.

d. W hile only a few major platforms dominate in the market, their revenue shares are contestable and can be challenged by potential local entrants. This is possible given the

See “Eagle Watch,” A15

Putin hosts African leaders as grain deal collapse threatens food security

PR esIDent Vladimir Putin is hosting a summit with African leaders that’s intended to demonstrate Russia’s growing influence on the continent. Instead, it’s turning into a measure of the Kremlin’s diminishing power as his war in Ukraine drags on.

The two-day meeting starting Thursday in St. Petersburg takes place amid criticism in Africa of the impact on global food prices of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal and attacks on Ukrainian port facilities. In contrast to the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 when Putin met 43 African heads of state, the Kremlin said 17 are due to attend this time.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed “unprecedented pressure” by the US and its allies for the low turnout. Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov highlighted participation by lower-level officials representing 49 countries despite arm-twisting by Russia’s opponents.

“Putin is imitating the Soviet Union but Putin’s Russia isn’t the USSR—it doesn’t have the soft power or money to buy loyalty,” said Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “His new friends in Africa are not proving reliable.”

The summit takes place 10 days after Russia ended the Ukraine grain-export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that had ensured safe passage of almost 33 million tons of crops via the Black Sea, helping to cool surging world food prices following Russia’s invasion.

It’s also Putin’s first in-person gathering with foreign leaders since the mutiny by Wagner mercenaries in June that posed the most serious challenge to his nearly quarter-century rule in Russia.

The future of Wagner’s activities in Africa, which has given the Kremlin a low-cost instrument to wield influence on the continent, is also in question amid the political fallout from the revolt.

The collapse of the grain deal threatens to exacerbate food-security concerns in Africa, where almost half of nations import more than a third of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, according to the International Centre for Migration Policy Development.

Russia had repeatedly threatened to quit the agreement, claiming commitments to facilitate exports of Russian grain and fertilizers weren’t being fulfilled. Despite its complaints, Russia is shipping record volumes of wheat and fertilizer exports are recovering to pre-war levels.

Egypt, whose president, AbdelFattah El-Sisi, is attending the summit, criticized Russia’s withdrawal.

A top Kenyan official labeled Putin’s decision a “stab on the back” for drought-afflicted African countries hit by rising food prices.

“We understand the importance

Angara

continued from A14

the capabilities of the Filipino workforce through reskilling, upskilling and lifelong learning in order to make them more competitive and responsive to the requirements of employers, including potential investors in search of qualified personnel. It is about encouraging innovation so that Filipino industries will be able to produce unique, high-quality, globally competitive products that are up to par with international standards. It is about diversifying our exports and making our economy more robust and prosperous.

The Tatak Pinoy bill hews closely to the Philippine Economic Development Plan 2023 to 2028 and the new Philippine Export Development Plan, which are the building blocks to achieve strong economic growth. In pushing for Tatak Pinoy, we always emphasize the need for close collabo-

The collapse of the grain deal threatens to exacerbate foodsecurity concerns in Africa, where almost half of nations import more than a third of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, according to the International Centre for Migration Policy Development.

of uninterrupted food supplies for the socio-economic development and political stability of the African states,” Putin said in an article on the Kremlin website. The Kremlin said Putin plans bilateral talks with all the African heads of state participating in the summit.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who’s due to meet with Putin on Saturday, has also previously highlighted the issue in talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts. Ramaphosa, whose ruling African National Congress has close ties to Moscow dating back to Soviet support for the anti-Apartheid movement, called the summit a chance to “foster mutually beneficial cooperation” between Russia and Africa.

The Russian leader conceded last week that he can’t travel to South Africa for a meeting in August of BRICS states, amid concerns over the risk of possible arrest for alleged war crimes in Ukraine under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. A peace initiative in Russia and Ukraine begun by a group of African leaders in June also appears to be going nowhere.

The limits of Russia’s reach is indicated by its Africa trade reaching only $18 billion in 2022, dwarfed by China’s $282 billion in commercial exchanges that year with African nations.

The St. Petersburg summit is important for the Kremlin despite the reduced attendance from African leaders, said Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Showcasing their remaining ties with certain regions is of crucial importance to Putin just to demonstrate that, first of all, Russia is not isolated; it remains an important international player, a great power,” she said.

African leaders will be looking to impress on Putin the need to resume grain exports through the Black Sea, said Sanusha Naidu, a Cape Townbased political analyst with the Institute for Global Dialogue. “It is going to be problematic if this is just a summit that is mainly about Russia and not about Africa,” she said. With assistance from Julius Domoney, Mike Cohen, Paul Richardson and S’thembile Cele / Bloomberg

ration between the government and the private sector in order to achieve our goal of bringing the Philippines closer to the ranks of the industrialized nations.

We have already conducted four hearings on the Tatak Pinoy bill in the Committee on Finance and we will hold two or three more before wrapping up and preparing our committee report for sponsorship before we start our deliberations on the 2024 national budget. With the backing of the President, we expect to see even greater support from our colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives for this important measure.

Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years—9 years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and 9 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.   E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

Those women of peace and diplomacy

Tito Genova Valiente annoTaTions

lomatic relations of the Philippines with Hungary and East Germany. She was at Bonn as well. She then became an envoy to Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, and Hungary.

‘Isn’t that Delia Albert?”

“the former Ambassador?

“Also secretary of Foreign Affairs…” it was neni sta. Romana-Cruz, former Chair of the national Book Development Board, who initiated the inquiry as we both looked at the formal and elegant lady seated at the sofa at the center of this penthouse. It was the official launch of the book, Hindi Pasisiil ang Pagsibol (literally, “no one could stop spring,” a translation that as the afternoon went by became “nothing can stop the flower from blooming.”

At the center of the launch was the person gifted with the vision to consider deepening the relationships between countries—the Philippines and Hungary in this regard— through literature and translations. That person is Ambassador of Hungary to the Philippines, Dr. Titanilla Toth. Working with the Ateneo de Naga University Press and its director, Kristian Sendon Cordero, she organized a project where selected poems from her country’s pre-eminent poets, including its national poet Sandor Petofi, were translated into Filipino and other Bikol languages.

In her speech, Toth articulated the function of poetry as not only serving as a bridge between (or even among) countries but also as “flowers that bloom in the garden of friendship.”

Metaphors of goodwill were not only given focus that day; the afternoon was a memory in bloom. There was the presence of a woman who was the first diplomat to open relationships in European countries that were not only othered but also challenged in terms of their ideologies.

“Yes, I think that’s Ambassador Delia Albert,” I responded. She was a prominent face during the years that she was an ambassador and, later, secretary of foreign affairs. No one could forget a leader if she was the only woman in a male-dominated world. The world of diplomacy then

had always been a male bastion that no one bothered to change the gender of that position: Ambassador never became Ambassadress. Unless you are representing goodwill in small events but never if you are that kind of individual expected to be at home between the boundaries of peace and

That afternoon, at the Penthouse of Del Rosario Law Center in Bonifacio Global City, Delia Albert was an important presence. As the event was coming to an end, we found ourselves in front of her. We stood up to welcome her and began a conversation that saw us all ignoring the sofa, listening to her recall her days as a diplomat.

She talked about how the diplomatic processes had changed because of technology. Without the Internet and the accompanying development in social media, the use of mobile phones and the new protocol on email, there was only personal and face-to-face interactions. Then there was the gender concern. From her we learned how she became the first female foreign minister in Asia and how this, in so many ways, changed the global political landscape.

a German, surnamed “Albert” after being made to wait for three years.

“And he waited?” I cheekily asked. “He waited,” she firmly answered.

As the conversation progressed, I noticed Ambassador Titanilla Toth approached us. She became part of the listeners, commenting every now and then about how Ambassador Albert made the event important. Here we were launching a book on poetry and observing the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and here was the woman diplomat who also made history by having the honor of opening the first diplomatic post in Hungary. Gilding this “coincidence” was the fact of the Ambassador of Hungary to the country being a woman. Ambassador Albert was proud of many things, among them a book she wrote about the women who pioneered work in the field of foreign affairs and diplomacy. The book was “Women in Diplomacy: The Remarkable Ambassadors in the Philippine Service.”

Introducing myself as a columnist for BusinessMirror, my affiliation seemed to bring back fond memories of a writer who wrote about her. Delia Albert and I searched our minds for that writer. She remembered the writer as having passed on and the wonderful things that writer essayed in that article. We searched our minds for the name of the writer who described her as “woman power in the foreign service,” and a diplomat who “gleams as gold, shines as silver.”

The writer was our very own Recto Mercene.

war, negotiations and compromise, raw strength and gentle persuasion.

Delia Albert was all of these: She was what we call a “career diplomat,” an individual who studied and worked her way up to be one. Her career began in the ’60s, in the Office of the secretary of Foreign Affairs. She was part of the delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from 1969 to 1975. She was there at the embassy of Romania, from which she managed the dip-

Not every topic involved the diplomatese and the somber: Ambassador Albert with that charming grin narrated how the unequal treatment of diplomats extended to the matter of finding partners. While it was no big deal for male ambassadors to be married to foreigners, it was such an issue for women diplomats to be involved with foreigners. “I changed all that,” with a glint in her eyes, sharing with us that lovely part of her person. She confessed to marrying

The West’s double standard on Ukraine

other international norms.

This is exemplified by the largescale deliveries to Ukraine of the latest weapons, including man-portable surface-to-air missile systems, multiple rocket launchers and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems.

I turned to Ambassador Delia Albert and excitedly said: “A memoir! You should write a memoir for us.” She muttered something but I did not get it. But I clearly note how she turned to Ambassador Toth and said, “Please write a book.” Those were the words of a woman to another woman as they came full historical circle that afternoon, celebrating linkage through literature that writes how no one can stop flowers from blooming.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

supply the Kyiv regime with cluster munitions. Many countries, including the Asean members, have already declared that their use in Ukraine is unacceptable.

THE conflict in Ukraine is dragging on further and further because the US, Nato and EU countries continue to provide military and financial support to the Kyiv regime and prevent Vladimir Zelenskyy from discussing peace initiatives that many countries are proposing.

Double standards in international politics are no longer a figure of speech, but an obvious fact. The US, Nato and the EU ignore all norms and principles of international law, as well as conventions in the field of arms control and humanitarian law.

There is a saying that “Gods may do what cattle may not,” which highlights the double standard that the West is inflicting on the world via Ukraine. Western countries constantly accuse other states of various violations, but they themselves openly ignore the UN Charter and

Eagle Watch

continued from A14

heterogeneous nature of labor being exchanged and the lack of uniform earning structures in these markets.

e. T he characteristics of platforms, particularly the degree of flexibility offered to workers, are similar to the informal sector. However, the share of workers in the informal sector did not seem to change

The West has ceased to take a responsible approach to controlling the export of arms and military equipment, has simplified the consideration of cases involving their transfer to conflict zones and has turned a blind eye to international conventions, the adoption of which they themselves had been seeking for many years.

In March this year, the UK announced supplies of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. This was stated in the written answers of UK Deputy Defense Secretary James Hippy to questions from MP Kenny MacAskill of the Scottish party Alba. Thus, when asked how many depleted uranium shells Britain had supplied to Ukraine for use by the Challenger 2 tanks and how many of them had already been used, the deputy minister said: “We have sent thousands of ammunition to Ukraine for the Challenger 2, including armor-piercing shells with depleted uranium.”

In early July, the world was shocked by the announced decision by the United States of America to

significantly with the rise of OLPs. This implies that apart from the skill set of workers, there are other barriers to the potential transition of workers from informal to formal activities through OLPs.

Moving forward, the Outlook provides policy recommendations on how Asean Member States can ensure human capital development, foster decent work, and provide social protection for workers in nontraditional work arrangements by

It should be noted that 123 countries have signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits this type of weapons. Because of its use by the Americans during the Vietnam War, tragic cases of local residents being blown up by unexploded ordnance still occur there 50 years later.

This was cited by the Lao Foreign Ministry in its statement, where it cited that Washington’s decision to supply cluster bombs to the Ukrainian Nazis was dictated by its desire to inflict maximum strategic damage on Russia at any cost.

The West also omitted the human rights situation in the importing country and its unwillingness to fulfill its international obligations regarding arms control in general.

The weapons supplied to Kyiv have long since begun to appear in European and African States, adding to the arsenals of organized crime and terrorist groups. In late June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Western weapons transferred to Ukraine were already being found near Israel’s borders.

citing international best practices. It is hoped to support regional collaboration among Asean Member States and others for evidence-based policies and strategies to provide decent work conditions for workers in the platform economy.

Dr. Leonardo A. Lanzona, Jr. and Mr. Gerald Gracius Y. Pascua are Professor and Lecturer, respectively, at the Department of Economics of the Ateneo de Manila University. To download the AEO, please scan the accompanying QR code.

Recently, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that protesters in France were using weapons supplied by the West to the Kyiv regime. The diplomat pointed out that the weapons and funds allocated by the West, NATO and France directly in support of nationalists, Nazis and fascists on the territory of Ukraine, like a boomerang, end up not just on their territory, but hit their own people.

Weapons supplied to Kyiv end up in the hands of just those very protesters and are used against the police there in France, she said after the killing of a Frenchman of Algerian origin by the police in late June that led to mass protests.

The United States, NATO and the European Union are turning a blind eye to their own laws, norms and principles by supplying arms to the Ukrainian army.

The West is also unwilling to fulfill its international obligations regarding arms control in general, while at the same time requiring other countries to comply with nonproliferation regimes. “Gods may do what cattle may not.”

What will happen next if Western politicians decide to put nuclear weapons on Ukraine?

Gary Bauzon

AFP chief: China has sent joint patrol mission feelers EC PRESIDENT VON DER LEYEN TO VISIT MANILA

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig

However, he immediately denied, when asked by reporters, that the Chinese proposal indicated the venue to be the West Philippine Sea or any area in the South China Sea that is uncontested by both Manila and Beijing.

Brawner was the special guest during the Embassy’s dinner reception for the CPLA’s 96th founding anniversary in Pasig City Wednesday night.

I n a side interview with reporters, Brawner said Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian mentioned to him that the Embassy submitted a white paper to the DFA embodying their informal

proposal for CPLA and AFP to hold joint patrols. They (Chinese Embassy) offered us this prospect (of joint patrol), but we have to study it further,” Brawner said.

T he Embassy has yet to confirm the joint patrol proposal.

T he AFP has conducted joint patrols with neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia to fight piracy and human trafficking.

L ater this year, the Philippines, the US, and Australia are planning to hold joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea to improve interoperability among its navies.

W ithout referring to the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, Chinese defense attache to Manila Senior Col. Li Jianzhong reiterated that, “China will never seek expansion and resolutely oppose hegemonism and power politics.”

He enumerated the strides made by the CPLA and AFP to improve understanding through bilateral exchanges during the past six years of the Duterte administration. These include:

■ High-level visit of State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe in September 2020;

■ Donation of over P1.7 billion worth of weapons and equipment to the AFP for its anti-terror war in Marawi City in 2018;

■ Dispatch of training experts from China’s Ministry of National Defense to the Philippines, providing technical guidance on use of donated Chinese weapons and equipment;

■ Training of more than 110 DND and AFP officials in China since 2016;

■ Deployment of military aircraft to send P14 million worth of vaccines and other anti-pandemic materials;

■ Port calls by CPLA Navy missile destroyer in 2017 in Davao City and escort group vessel in 2019 in Manila; I believe that the CPLA and the AFP will make greater contribution to the China-Philippines strategic cooperative relationship by further strengthening communication and enhancing bilateral exchanges,” Senior Col. Li said in his speech during the dinner reception.

For his part, Chinese Ambassador Huang said China “has all along adhered to the national defense policy of active defense and a holistic approach to national security.”

“ China advocates promoting cooperation through dialogue, promoting peace through cooperation and handling differences and disputes with peaceful means,” Huang said.

A side from Brawner, other VIPs present at the reception dinner were former defense secretary and now Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) chairman Delfin Lorenzana, and other officials from the AFP, Department of National Defense and Department of Justice.

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

MALACAÑANG on Thurs-

day announced the upcoming three-day official visit of European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen to the country.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is pleased to welcome the upcoming official visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from 30 July to 01 August 2023,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a brief statement.

S he is scheduled to meet with Philippine government officials, as well as private business and civic entities.

T his will be the first time an EC President will visit the Philippines.

T he event is expected to help further strengthen the country’s bilateral relations with the EU.

“ President von der Leyen’s visit is hoped to bring the Philippines and the EU even closer, as both countries step up cooperation activities in trade, economic cooperation, development cooperation, maritime cooperation, climate and environment, space cooperation, digital connectivity,

VON DER LEYEN among other sectors,” PCO said.  Von der Leyen’s visit comes as the country is seeking an extension of the validity of the country’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) from the European Union (EU), which is set to expire this year.

T he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier said the EC is inclined to extend the validity of the existing GSP Regulation until December 31, 2027.

T he GSP+ is a special incentive arrangement that allows the country to export goods included in 6,270 product lines to the EU market without any tariffs.

NGCP must process SIS applications in 60 days only–DOE Marcos lifts

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE Department of Energy (DOE) will see to it that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) can process within 60 days the applications for the conduct of system impact study (SIS) so that the construction of proposed power projects would be finished on time.

S IS is an assessment conducted by the Transmission Network Provider or System Operator in addition to the Grid Impact Studies. The SIS is necessary in order to determine the adequacy of the transmission grid and its capability to accommodate a request for power delivery service.

D OE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said it is taking NGCP more than a year to process the SIS applications. Power firms, Lotilla said, have been complaining of delays, “from one and a half to two years in the SIS alone,” in the approval process.

These are the things that we want to be able to address so that renewable energy (RE) developers will be able to focus on the rollout of their projects,” he said. “Transmission is key. So, we need to improve on the system impact studies because these have to be addressed upfront rather than later. The SIS, unfortunately, is rather delayed.”

L otilla said Malacañang is stepping in to make sure that transmission lines and related infrastructure, as well as SIS, are carried out at the pace required by the country’s power needs.

“ The executive secretary (ES) is chairing this one so by the next … we will be looking at how the transmission concessionaire, NGCP, is going to specify the 60-

Mindanao Emergency proclamation

day requirement for approval of just the SISs.

“ That’s why the ES as chair has scheduled the next meeting of the EVOSS (Energy Virtual One-Stop System) steering committee to deal with this issue on the system impact study,” he said.

T he NGCP has yet to comment. It previously said that the list of SIS applications is being reviewed thoroughly because not all are serious applicants.

L otilla acknowledged this.

“[Of those] who have applied for a system impact study, only less than 50 percent actually carry out their projects. So that means that all the others who have applied and did not carry out their projects had gotten in the way.”

However, Lotilla pointed out, this should not be an excuse for the delay.  “But there should be a way of purging the list. Even other agencies have a way of cleaning up the list that if you don’t implement your project within a certain number of days, you get replaced.”

T he energy chief stressed that NGCP must figure out a way to speed up the review process. “There could be a process, but what I’m saying is, if the intention is to facilitate, then they could have easily raised these things. I want to stress that we want to work with the private sector and we want to work in a more efficient and effective way and so this process is intended precisely to achieve that,” said Lotilla.

NGCP holds the sole and exclusive concession and franchise for operating the Philippines’ transmission network.

T he grid operator has committed to concentrate all available resources toward the completion of ongoing transmission projects.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has lifted the State of National Emergency due to Lawless Violence in Mindanao.  I n his Proclamation No. 298, issued through Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on Tuesday, Marcos said he made the decision due to the improving security conditions in Mindanao.  “ Through successful focused military and law enforcement operations and programs that promote sustainable and inclusive peace, the government has made significant gains in improving and restoring peace and order in the region,” Marcos said.

Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte declared the State of National Emergency in 2016 through Proclamation No. 55 due to “spate of violent and lawless acts” in Mindanao.

A mong the violent incidents were abductions, hostage-takings and murder of innocent civilians, bombing of power transmission facilities, highway robberies and extortions, attacks on military outposts, assassinations of media people, and mass jailbreaks.

The conditions then prevailing for which Proclamation No. 55 was issued in 2016 have been significantly mitigated or reduced,” Marcos said.

W ith the lifting of Proclamation No. 55, the chief executive said he hopes to boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy in Mindanao.

P roclamation No. 55 allowed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to implement measures to suppress any and all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao.  Samuel P. Medenilla

THE Chinese Embassy in Manila has sent feelers to the Department of Foreign Affairs asking if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can hold a joint patrol mission, according to AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

B1

Friday, July 28, 2023

Wilcon Depot income in H1 tumbles as store visits drop

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Wilcon’s President and CEo Lorraine belo-Cincochan said t hursday the company recorded slower growth in the second quarter.

“We have a high base since there was pent-up demand for the same period last year as we just came out of the omicron surge plus there was a slowdown in private construction especially in April with its consecutive long weekends,” she said.

“Historically, months with lon-

ger holiday stretches were periods with relatively lower sales since construction projects are usually also paused to save on labor cost or homeowners go on holiday themselves. While our sales still grew modestly in the second quarter, this was not enough to cover the increases in our fixed costs, which comprises the bulk of our opex [operational expenses].”

She added that despite the soft-

ening of demand in the home improvement sector, Wilcon remains committed to pursuing its expansion plans.

“We are still pursuing our expansion plans at our current pace. We want to be ready and conveniently within reach by our customers when demand picks up. We have opened four new stores so far and tomorrow we are opening another depot. We still have seven ongoing construction projects, not including several that are in the planning or permitting stage, which are set to be opened next year.”

Net sales in the first half reached P17.15 billion, 7 percent higher from the previous year’s P15.94 billion.

t he increase was mainly driven by the contribution of new stores as comparable sales growth fell 0.2 percent for the first half.

t he company said four new stores were added during the period while two bottom-dwelling, smaller format branches were closed, ending

the period with 85 stores. t he depot format accounted for 97 percent of net sales, the home essentials format 2 percent and the remaining 1 percent by project sales.

Net sales for the second quarter alone rose 4 percent to P8.62 billion, mainly due to the contribution of below one-year stores. Slowdown in foot traffic and transaction count in old stores drove companywide comparable sales or samestore sales to decline by 3.4 percent.

Comparable transaction count dropped by 7.4 percent while comparable ticket size still grew by 4.4 percent.

o p erating expenses including lease-related interest expense went up by 20 percent or P397 million year-on-year to P2.36 billion. t he increase is mainly attributable to expansion-related expenses, the company said.

Net income for the quarter slid by 15 percent to P856 million, the company said.

AboitizPower Q2 profits hit ₧10.3B

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

Aboitiz Power Corp. posted a net income of P10.3 billion in the second quarter, bringing its first-half earnings to P17.8 billion.

its net income in the second quarter rose by 46 percent from last year’s P7 billion while the first-half earnings were 79 percent higher than the P10 billion recorded last year.

t he company attributed its strong performance to the “fresh contribu-

tion from GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) and higher availability across the company’s portfolio.”

it also recognized non-recurring gains of P37 million during the sixmonth period, mainly due to derivative gains from commodity hedging.

t he Company had an exceptional performance in the first six months of 2023, driven by fresh contributions of our strategic investments and operational excellence outcomes.

We remain on track toward

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

ALAWMA k ER on Wednesday urged the country’s corporate giants—San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Ayala Corp., and Metro Pacific investments Corp. (MPiC)— to help fund the revival of the “bicol Express” or the proposed Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long Haul Project.

achieving a 50:50 balanced mix portfolio by 2030 and continue to focus on providing reliable and innovative power while adapting to dynamic market conditions,” said AboitizPower President and CEo Emmanuel Rubio.

t he company’s generation and retail supply business recorded P30.2 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebit DA) from January to June, up 31 percent from last year’s level.

its distribution business recorded an EbitDA of P6 billion, 101-percent higher compared to the same period a year ago.

As of end-June, total consolidated assets remained flat at P478.7 billion.

“We envision a future of continued success in achieving our corporate objectives, where AboitizPower is recognized as a driving force in the country’s energy sector, delivering sustainable growth and substantial returns to our investors,” added Rubio.

Co N CEPC i o N i n dustrial Corp. (CiC), a manufacturer of refrigerators and airconditioners, on t hursday said its income rose 33 percent to P350.3 million in the first half from the previous year’s P263.76 million on strong sales.

t he company attributed its performance during the period to better sales in the second quarter, “favorable” foreign exchange rates, and income contribution from its associate, Concepcion Midea inc.

t he company said it had sustained its topline growth trajectory, generating P7.23 billion in net sales for the first half, an 8 percent growth from last year’s P6.72 billion.

our second quarter performance demonstrated the strength of our core business and our ability to drive growth through our expanded portfolio, end-to-end customized solutions, and long-term relationships with our customers,” company chairman and CEo Raul Joseph A. Concepcion said.

“We will continue to focus on these fundamentals, continue to generate operating leverage and explore business opportunities to complement our strategy that would reinforce our position as the top consumer lifestyle and building and industrial solutions provider in the country.”

For the second quarter alone, its income grew 10 percent to P257.08 million from the previous year’s P233.12 million.

its air conditioning business grew 18 percent, while its other appliance businesses expanded more than

double, mainly the laundry products.

t his was, however, offset by the decline in the elevator equipment and refrigerator businesses.

t he consumer segment accounted for the largest proportion of sales at 74 percent. t he strong demand for window room airconditioner and laundry products led to a 3 percent year-on-year sales growth to P5.3 billion in the first half.

t he growth was, however, partly offset by lower demand for refrigerators.

t he company said its commercial business, which represents the remaining 26 percent of sales, posted a 23 percent increase in net sales to P1.9 billion in view of higher project deliveries. t he aftermarket business for both air conditioner and elevator businesses delivered 23 percent yearon-year growth.

t his was offset in part by lower elevator equipment sales due to a higher base coming from a large project last year.

t he company’s unconsolidated associate, Concepcion Midea, had strong sales across all product lines at P1.8 billion, 32 percent higher compared to last year. it posted a net income of P54.8 million, reversing last year’s loss of P98.4 million.

For the second quarter alone, net sales jumped 20 percent from the prior year to P4.4 billion.

Net income for the quarter rose 10 percent to P257.1 million, while net sales climbed by half, as sales volume improved sequentially. VG Cabuag

REAL estate company Filigree has launched a new residential project called 1001 Parkway Residences in Filinvest City, Alabang, with its soon-to-rise P4.2-billion tower one.

According to Filigree bu siness Unit Head Daphne Sanchez, the residential market in this side of Muntinlupa City has already seen an uptick across all segments since the second half of last year.

“So i think buyers of residential developments are very much open and raring to purchase already [now that the] pandemic [is over],” she told the businessMirror on the sidelines of their kick off ceremony held at the bloc 10 Retail Community Center in Filinvest City, Alabang on Wednesday.

1001 Parkway Residences is a twotower residential condominium complex that offers its future residents all the benefits of high-rise living and a fashionable cosmopolitan lifestyle.

“it gives unparalleled access to the exhilarating pace of urban life and modern sensibilities, while at the same time enjoying the luxury of indulging in the slower, more meditative and meaningful moments so simply priceless,” she said. Roderick L. Abad

bicol Saro Partylist Rep. br ian

Raymund Yamsuan said private investors can team up with the government and put up a consortium to bring new life to the bicol Express project.

in his second State of the Nation Address (SoNA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. renewed his commitment to keep infrastructure spending under his administration at 5 to 6 percent of GDP to guarantee efficient economic growth.

Yamsuan said that the President also stressed in his SoNA that “collaboration is the key”, including between the government and the private sector, to realize these ambitious plans for infrastructure development and the other priority programs of his administration.

“ t he Department of transportation (Dotr) said that it is currently looking for private investors for some of its rail projects, including the South Long Haul Project that will run all the way to bicol.

t his project has long been proven viable for private investors considering that some of our corporate giants have long expressed interest in reviving the long-idle bicol Express,” said Yamsuan, who is also the vice-chair-

person of the Committee on bicol Affairs and Economic Development in the House of Representatives.

He recalled that under past administrations, at least three big private firms have confirmed their interest in reviving the bicol Express through a public-private partnership scheme.

SMC, Ayala, and MP i C have expressed interest in bidding for the b i col Express project way back in 2015, Yamsuan recalled. However, the plan was stalled because MP iC was concerned over the timing of the bidding for the project, which at that time was less than a year before the late President b e nigno Aquino i ii was to step down from office.

Yamsuan said that with private investors earlier being able to put up a consortium and present an unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino i nternational Airport (NA i A), the same could be done with the modernization of the bicol Express.

Estimated to cost P142 billion, the first package of the bicol Express under the PNR’s South Long Haul Project connects Metro Manila to bicol and is expected to reduce travel time between the two points from the current 14 to 18 hours to just 4 to 6 hours.

it is among the big-ticket rail projects included in the list of priority infrastructure projects under House bi ll 8078, which provides for a 30-year national infrastructure program for 2023 up to 2052. t he bill was approved on third and final reading last May.

Marcos has also included the bicol Express project in the list of 194 infrastructure projects under his administration’s P8.3 trillion “bu ild better More” (bbM) program, which he said in his SoNA is “currently in progress and being vigorously implemented.” He has instructed the Dotr to renegotiate the loan agreement with China, which had previously agreed to fund the bicol Express project.

Li G H t Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said on t hursday the first phase of the Light Rail transit (LRt ) Line 1 Cavite Extension is now at 88 percent, a “significant progress” according to the company’s president.

LRMC President and CEo Juan F. Alfonso said the company achieved this feat thanks to the “completed design works, nearly completed procurement processes, ongoing construction works, and testing and commissioning.”

“We give credit to the hardworking men and women of LRMC and our contractors who are tirelessly working on the ground for this milestone of LRt-1 Cavite Extension Phase 1 Project. t h is is a testament that we at LRMC remain highly attuned to our common goal of upgrading the commuter experience, especially in the southern part of Metro Manila with Phase 1 traversing the cities of Pasay and Paranaque,” he said.

t he initial phase covers the construction of 6.7 kilometers of rails between Redemptorist Station and

Dr. Santos. it also involves the development of five stations, all of which are in “various stages of development with ongoing works on civil and structural, structural steel, architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection.” Redemptorist Station, which will be the next station after the existing b a claran Station southbound, has registered 59.8 percent completion with progress highlighted on the commencement of roof sheeting installation, and escalator installation during the reporting period.

Closet to the aiport, Mi A Station has so far registered a 66.8-percent completion rate with the latest developments on the installation of roof sheeting and fire pump. t he Asia World Station, meanwhile was at 54.6 percent completion. it will be connected to the Paranaque integrated terminal Exchange. Meanwhile, the Ninoy Aquino Station was at 59.3 percent completion rate, while the Dr. Santos Station registered a 71.1-percent completion rate. Lorenz S. Marasigan

Wilcon Depot inc., the listed home improvement and finishing construction supplies retailer, said its income fell by 2 percent year-on-year to P1.81 billion in the first half due to lower foot traffic at its stores.

Palace-backed tax bills may face rough sailing in Senate

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

APPROVAL of the tax propos-

als forwarded by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will not be a “slam dunk” in the Senate—and may even be blocked—if they will cause misery to already overtaxed people, Senator Francis

G. Escudero warned last Thursday.

And if the administration team that will be selling the tax proposals

“is the same crew that did a poor job in explaining the Maharlika Investment Fund,” then the revenue measures may be doomed, the senator pointed out.

Escudero added that “at this time, selling taxes to Filipinos is like asking an Eskimo to buy a freezer.”

He declared that “one, we have become an e-Commerce Republic. So expect a massive pushback when you start taxing any good added on the cart,” the senator from Bicol said, referring to a Palace-backed bill that will slap taxes on online purchases.

Escudero further identified the plan to raise motor vehicle registration fees “as one that will also face roadblocks as car owners are already taxed twice daily at the pump when gas has a VAT [value-added tax] on top of the excise tax.”

And then there’s the toll fee, “the price motorists pay for government’s failure to fix public roads,” he added.

Fiscal space

THE measures Marcos requested from Congress include the following: tax on single-use plastics; VAT on digital services; tax in the mining fiscal regime; and, updating the Motor Vehicle Road User’s Tax (MVRUT). The President also seeks the passage of the bill for an Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act. Marcos also requested Congress to enact a reform of the military and uniformed personnel pension system to ensure its sustainability.

Last Wednesday, Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said the House Committee on Ways and Means “is done with the MVRUT.” (See “Salceda targets early approval of tax bills,” in the BusinessMirror 27 July 2023. pp. A1 or https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/07/27/ salceda-targets-early-approvalof-tax-bills/)

“All the others are approved on third reading, except mining, which will be taken up in the coming days,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker added they expect the EOPT bill to be approved by the Senate next month.

Salceda said these reforms “are crucial” to ensuring that Marcos “has the fiscal space he needs to make his vision happen.”

The lawmaker explained that a strong tax system—exemplified by tax efforts or tax-to-GDP—is the foundation of a strong state capable of delivering public goods and services.

“So, we want to enact all these tax reforms because, while revenue has been growing, the economy is growing much faster,” Salceda said.

“So we are seeing warning signs of declining tax effort.”

The lawmaker added that as of the first semester, the government is looking at a tax effort of 12.8 percent.

“Last year it was 14.6 percent. So, we need to catch up,” he added. “It’s possibly a sign that the economy is moving towards things we are currently not taxing or are undertaxing.”

Salceda cited as example the MVUT rates, which he said has not been updated since 2004—“not to mention our excise tax exemptions on pick-up trucks”—while car sales are up 28.1 percent.

Good messaging

HOWEVER, Escudero cautioned that in pushing these measures in the time of “high prices and low wages,” the Marcos administration will be “putting its huge political capital on the line.”

What would help, he said, is good messaging that will win over citizens that while these proposals are painful, they are needed.

Kaya dapat ang ipapadalang mga taong magbebenta ng isang mahirap lunukin na produkto ay ’yung hindi mahina sa pagpapaliwanag,” the senator stressed. [The people the Palace would send here should be those who are good at selling a product that is hard to swallow.]

Escudero, however, assured that “as courtesy to the President, he would listen to the proposals and study the merits, “because in the Senate, every idea must be given its day.”

Value of smuggled goods seized by BOC hits ₧30.1B

THE value of smuggled goods

the Bureau of Customs said it has seized has hit P30.1 billion as of July 25, the BOC announced last Thursday.

Customs officials said the goods, seized through 654 operations, include various agricultural products amounting to over P2.9 billion.

During the same reference period, the BOC said it has issued seven show-cause orders against erring personnel of the bureau. It added that 66 personnel were placed under investigation by its Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS).

The bureau added its Account Management Office (AMO) has processed the accreditation of 7,733 Importers and 1,263 Customs brokers from January 1 to July 25. It said that the AMO has revoked the accreditation of 95 Importers and 36 Customs brokers “due to violations of customs laws, rules and regulations.”

The BOC disclosed the information three days after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said during his second State of the Nation Address that the government would be more aggressive in curbing the country’s smuggling problems, particularly in agricultural items.

“We reaffirm our commitment to addressing the pressing issues of smuggling and hoarding of agricultural products in our country,” the bureau said. “We stand fully supportive of the President’s directives

PHL must address pricing issues in climate insurance–Unescap

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

The UN agency said these threats must be met with transformative adaptation measures that enable vulnerable households to protect their assets and livelihoods in hazard risk hotspots. A regional strategy to achieve early warning for all is expected by 2027.

The proposed regional strategy builds on the global “Executive Action Plan on Early Warnings for All (2023–2027). Launched by the UN Secretary General last year, this plan aims to foster transboundary synergies between countries in Asia and the Pacific, the world’s most disasterprone region.

ter emergency is underway, and we must fundamentally transform our approach to building resilience.”

Increased investments in multihazard early warning systems as well as expanding coverage, particularly in least developed countries, is essential in reducing fatalities. Early warning systems can also decrease disaster losses by up to 60 percent, offering a remarkable tenfold return on investment.

These are some of the issues that the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) noted in a report that also noted the growing risk insurance market in the Philippines, which is supported by the government as well.

The Unescap said this market provides an opportunity for stakeholders to try different risk-pooling instruments. It is estimated that 95 percent of all industrial property policies in the Philippines include coverage for natural catastrophes.

“The challenge, however, is that government-mandated minimum insurance premiums can be priced as low as 0.05 percent of asset value for flood and typhoon coverage. This

makes the market very competitive as the premium prices are set at the bare minimum,” the Unescap said.

“For ecosystem approaches to risk management, as for mangrove conservation, the estimates of benefits are not precisely known. They are, therefore, not incorporated into market prices of premiums. The premium prices, therefore, tend to be high,” it added.

The Unescap said climate changeinduced disasters pose serious threats to the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. The country that wrestled with the tempest from Egay (international name: Doksuri) is considered as one of the nations most vulnerable to these disasters.

Meanwhile, the Unescap said disasters like earthquakes also caused significant damage, with losses estimated at $12 billion, occurring primarily in Japan, China, Philippines, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Philippines is one of the countries expected to suffer significantly due to climate change. A 1.5-degree increase in global temperatures could lead to a reduction of over 5 percent of gross domestic product in the archipelago.

“As temperatures continue to rise, new disaster hotspots are emerging, and existing ones are intensifying,” UN Undersecretary-General and Unescap Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said. “A disas-

Climate change-induced disasters pose an increasingly serious threat to the Asia-Pacific region and climate disaster-related losses are already enormous. In 2022 alone, over 140 disasters struck the region, leading to over 7,500 deaths, affecting over 64 million people and causing economic damage estimated at $57 billion. However, the consequences of inaction are greater. The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2023 projects disaster-related deaths and economic impacts to amount to annual losses nearing $1 trillion or three percent of regional GDP under a scenario of 2-degrees-Celsius warming.

The report further shows that the most vulnerable subregions, such as the Pacific small island developing States, will experience heightened inequality and devastation in the agriculture and energy sectors, compromising food and energy security.

BIR shuts down ‘well-connected’ flour distributor

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it shut down a major flour distributor in the country after it confirmed that the firm was involved in tax fraud activities.

A statement from the BIR announced the bureau has placed JPoon and Sons Corp. under its “Oplan Kandado” (lock-up) program after investigations revealed the DA-licensed firm has unregistered warehouses and issues unregistered invoices.

The BIR noted that the firm is “connected to one of the major manufacturers of flour in the Philippines through their interlocking board of directors and majority stockholders.” The bureau, however, opted to keep under wraps the name of the “major” flour manufacturer.

and will collaborate closely in the investigation he has ordered.”

The BOC vowed that it would implement a series of “proactive” measures to “bolster” its efforts in curbing smuggling. One of these initiatives would involve “enhancing the bureau’s pre-arrival and post-arrival technical targeting and fraud detecting mechanism of imported goods.”

“Investing in additional equipment and providing capacity building for our personnel that will further strengthen our intelligence and enforcement capabilities,” the BOC said.

The bureau also committed to “intensify” its collaboration, joint operations and information with local and international law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

The BOC said it is committed to expedite the prosecution of filed cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Professional Regulation Commission.

“Additionally, through the DOJ, we will strive to increase the conviction rate of smugglers, serving as a deterrent to others involved in such illicit activities,” it added.

Earlier this week, Marcos warned that the “days of smugglers and hoarders are numbered.” (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/07/25/state-of-phlsound-improving-marcos/) Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

The BIR explained its “Oplan Kandado” program is pursuant to its Revenue Memorandum Order 3-2009, which is based on the Tax Code.

The BIR said its investigations re-

vealed that JPoon has a warehouse/ sales outlet and a back-office site in Quezon City, both of which are unregistered. JPoon also issues unregistered invoices in its sales operations across branches; “and this has been going on for years,” the BIR added.

The BIR alleges that the company has only registered manual receipts without a single registered comput-

erized accounting system as part of a scheme of issuing unregistered receipts.

“In this manner, JPoon is shielding its actual inventory to greatly reduce its tax liabilities,” the bureau said.

The BIR said it confirmed the issuance of unregistered receipts through a test buy it did recently as

part of a Mission Order issued by BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. “It was found that the unregistered warehouse in Quezon City contains thousands of bags of flour including sugar and other bakery products,” it said.

The BIR recently conducted simultaneous enforcement operations involving the multiple branches of JPoon across several locations. The bureau is also investigating the firm’s wheat importation activities, which are used as raw materials by its sister company for flour manufacturing.

The BIR has seized all the unregistered computers, accounting software, servers, and unregistered receipts being used by JPoon in its “illegal” operations.

“We want a level playing field for businesses in the Philippines. Big companies like JPoon should comply with all BIR issuances. All companies should. Non-payment of taxes should not be treated as a business advantage,” Lumagui was quoted in a statement as saying.

Association Conferences: Legacy and Impact

ASSOCIATIONS hold conferences in various destinations, local and international. However, there have been noticeable changes in the way conferences are now organized, e.g., use of more digital tools, deployment of hybrid options and concern for the environment. So “business as usual” no longer applies in organizing conferences. A new legacy and impact planning methodology for conferences is emerging.

This was the premise of a recent webinar that the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) conducted for its members and partners. Entitled “How to Leverage a Congress to Generate Positive Impact with your Local Partners: A New 4-step Methodology,” the webinar was presented by Gemmeke de Jongh of the Visit Flanders Convention Bureau in Belgium. Visit Flanders, the official convention bureau for Flanders and Brussels, launched its Vision 2050 in 2019 themed “Travel to Tomorrow,” which is about creating a balance among the conference destination

residents, visitors, entrepreneurs and the host place of the event. For conferences, Visit Flanders has shifted from “more” to “better” and with a stronger purpose and value for associations. The shift aims to achieve long-term positive societal impact that actively supports the needs of local stakeholders.

To distinguish, legacy is a “gift,” i.e., something that was produced and inherited from a past action or decision which is from the point of view of the legacy creator (organization-centric). Impact is the change generated over time by an activity that yields value to stakeholders and is from the point of view of the beneficiary (end user-centric).

For its legacy-impact initiative, Visit Flanders has developed a four-step planning methodology as follows:

1. Define. Identifying and engaging stakeholders, determining the intended impact, mapping outcomes, and establishing activities and outputs, and building capacity through training activities

2. Manage. Knowing the impact ecosystem, mapping event activities (how they currently deliver value as well as pinpointing additional activities), drafting and sharing a project plan, engaging and managing all stakeholders, and implementing and monitoring the project

3. Measure. Designing the measurement strategy, curating relevant indicators, planning, collecting and analyzing data and aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

4. Maximize. Developing the communication strategy, storytelling and reporting the impact achievements and learning and using the findings

Visit Flanders also has its “legacy makers” who serve as ambassadors in spreading the word and its work on legacy and impact. It also is part of the International Alliance for Im-

pact, a newly-formed informal network of 15 like-minded destination management organizations and convention and visitors’ bureaus whose goal is to share and learn, communicate and be involved and do business exchange.

Association-organized conferences are more than just events on the calendar; they are catalysts for growth, innovation and positive change. As we embrace the future, it is essential to recognize and support the transformative power of these gatherings, ensuring that they continue to shape a brighter, more informed and connected world. The experience of Visit Flanders is one good example of going beyond merely meeting and networking in a destination and really creating a legacy and impact in that destination and its people.

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

AS the Philippines continue to address climate change through climate insurance, government-mandated minimum insurance premiums remain low while prices remain high, according to a United Nations agency.

Octavio Peralta Association World

This photo courtesy of the Bureau of internal Revenue shows BiR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. (center) at a warehouse connected with JPoon and sons Corp., which the BiR shut down after finding irregularities in its transactions with the tax agency.

BY ADRIENNE WOOD University of Virginia

LAUGHTER is an everyday reminder that we humans are animals. In fact, when recorded laughter is slowed down, listeners can’t tell whether the sound is from a person or an animal. We throw our heads back and bare our teeth in a monkeylike grin. Sometimes we double over and lose our ability to speak for a moment, reverting temporarily to hooting apes. And just as hoots and howls help strengthen bonds in a troop of primates or a pack of wolves, laughter helps us connect with others.

Laughter is evolutionarily ancient. Known as a “play signal,” mammalian laughter accompanies playful interactions to signal harmless intentions and keep the play going. Chimps laugh. Rats laugh. Dogs laugh. Perhaps even dolphins laugh.

And laughter is an essential feature of human social interactions. We laugh when we’re amused, of course. But we also laugh out of embarrassment, politeness, nervousness and derision.

I’m a psychology researcher who studies how people use laughter to connect, and sometimes disconnect, with others. For humans, laughter has expanded from its original function as a play signal to serve a variety of social functions.

Laughter smooths social interactions

AMUSED laughter is a response to what scholars of humor call a “benign violation”—a situation that could represent a threat but that the laughing person has concluded is safe. (Psychologists love to ruin good things like comedy by overexplaining them.)

Laughter is a way to communicate that an interaction is playful, harmless and unserious. It’s often not a reliable sign that a person is having a good time, even though people sometimes laugh when they are enjoying themselves. An awkward exchange, a misunderstanding, a mocking joke—all these potentially uncomfortable moments are smoothed over by laughter. My colleagues and I were curious about whether the tendency to laugh is a trait that is consistent for each person regardless of context or whether it depends on whom they’re interacting with. In one study, we had people talk to 10 strangers in a series of one-on-one conversations. Then we counted how many times they laughed.

To our surprise, we found that how often a person laughs—at least when talking to strangers—is fairly consistent. Some people are laughers, and others are not. Whom they were talking to didn’t have a strong effect. At least in our sample, there weren’t hilarious partners who made everyone they talked to laugh. We found that the people who tended to laugh more enjoyed the conversations less. If you intrinsically enjoy talking to strangers and feel comfortable doing so, you may not feel the need to laugh a lot and smooth out the interaction—you trust it is going well. However, people felt they had more in common with these big-time laughers.

So in conversations between strangers, laughing a lot is not a sign of enjoyment, but it will make your partners feel similar to you. They will be likelier to agree that the two of you have something in common, which is a key ingredient in social connection. I suspect people borrow and transform the play signal of laughter to influence situations that, on their face, have nothing to do with play.

Laughter sends a message

WE humans have remarkable control over our voices.

Not only can we speak, but we can also alter the meaning of our words by modifying our vocal pitch, vowel placement, breathiness or nasality. A breathy “hello” becomes a flirtatious advance, a growly “hello” becomes a threat, and an upturned, high-pitched “hello” becomes a fearful question.

This got me thinking: Maybe people change the sound of their laughter depending on what they want to communicate.

After all, while some forms of laughter are considered uncontrollable—the kind that leaves you physically weak and running out of oxygen—most everyday laughter is at least somewhat under your control.

It turns out that there are already a lot of studies looking at different forms of laughter. Although their perspectives and methods differ, researchers agree that laughter takes many acoustic forms and occurs in many different situations.

The most popular approach for categorizing the many forms of laughter is to sort them by the internal state of the person laughing. Is the laughter “genuine,” reflecting a true positive state? Or is it the result of embarrassment, schadenfreude or mirth?

I wasn’t satisfied with those approaches. Laughter is a communicative behavior. To me it seems we should therefore categorize it according to how it influences the people listening, not based on how the person felt while laughing.

The word “cat” transmits the same information to a listener regardless of whether the speaker loves or loathes felines. And the effect of a giggle on a listener is the same regardless of how the giggler feels, assuming the giggle sounds the same.

Pleasurable, reassuring or threatening

WITH the communicative nature of laughter in mind, my colleagues and I proposed that laughter can be boiled down to three basic social functions—all under the cloak of playfulness.

First, there’s reward laughter. This type is most clearly linked to laughter’s evolved role as a play signal. It is pleasurable to hear and produce, thus making a playful interaction even more enjoyable.

Then there’s affiliation laughter. It conveys the same message of harmlessness without delivering a burst of pleasure. People can use it to reassure, appease and soothe. This is the most common laughter in everyday conversations—people punctuate their speech with it to ensure that their intentions aren’t misconstrued.

Finally, there’s dominance laughter. This type turns the nonserious message on its head. By laughing at someone, you are conveying that they are not worth taking seriously. My colleagues and I have identified acoustic properties of laughter that make it sound more rewarding, friendly or dominant.

I have also found that people change how their laughter sounds during conversations that emphasize those three social tasks. The changes are subtle because the context—the situation, the people’s relationship, the conversation topic—does a lot to clarify a laugh’s meaning.

There is no such thing as a fake laugh. All laughter serves genuine social functions, helping you navigate complex social interactions. And because you look and sound so silly while doing it, laughter ensures no one takes themselves too seriously. THE CONVERSATION

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Dustin Milligan, 38; Sally Struthers, 76; Jim Davis, 78; Peter Cullen, 82.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Discipline is a prerequisite to achieving what you set out to do this year, so take your time and do things right the first time. Refuse to let outside interference shred your confidence or allow others to take advantage of you. Trust in your intelligence and know what’s best for you; your year will unfold just how you want. Trust and believe in yourself. Your numbers are 5, 19, 24, 28, 31, 39, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Plan something entertaining or physically challenging and give it your all. Get in the groove and mastermind what brings you closer to your happy place. Make decisions based on your needs, not what someone pressures you to pursue. Romance is favored. ★★★★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Choose personal growth over changing others. Consistency will win over those who have yet to decide. Let your actions speak for you; the results will be your calling card. Unnecessary change is not in your best interest. Maintain or ration rather than accumulate. ★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t get upset. Someone will try to supersede you, but staying composed and using intelligent tactics will be the best way to ensure you maintain your integrity and position. Be the calm in the storm. Romance and selfimprovement are favored. ★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take the initiative, be resourceful and map out a plan before you begin your next endeavor. Preparation will put your mind at ease and make whatever you do more enjoyable. Surround yourself with responsible and resourceful people, and enjoy what life offers. ★★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Be free-spirited on a budget. Don’t give in to temptation. Use your imagination to devise a plan to give you the boost you need and the ingenuity to follow through with your goals. Romance is favored. ★★★★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t act hastily. Time is on your side, and opportunity is heading your way. Embrace changes that make you feel secure and confident that you can take care of your responsibilities and do what makes you happy. ★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Ask an expert, and you’ll find a way to conquer anything that stands in your way. Monitor spending and scour over every detail before you agree to make a move. Stay on top of medical issues that can affect your productivity or performance. ★★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll need leverage to reach your goal. Observe what others do and say, and raise issues that can give you the edge when trying to get your way. Don’t fear doing things differently or being controversial when dealing with joint endeavors. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A demonstrative approach to life will draw positive attention and offer you the platform you require to present your plans. The input you receive will help you decide what’s feasible. An investment will offer greater financial mobility and personal growth, and romance looks promising. ★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Tidy up loose ends and prepare to make your life easier. Set your sights on what you want, and do whatever it takes to reach your destination. Align yourself with unique individuals with insight into future trends and long-term investments. Proceed with confidence. ★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Put more energy into going above the call of duty. Separate yourself from those competing with you. Set high standards and bypass anyone who isn’t on board; if you snooze, you lose. Make your mark, and don’t look back. ★★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Dedication, loyalty and intelligence will lead to opportunity and positive change. Keep your eye on the ball and your feet on the ground; the result will be where you want to hang your hat. ★★

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are excitable, proactive and changeable. You are focused and assertive.

‘what’s what?’ BY PAUL COULTER

Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor—people use it to smooth social interactions

Because of you, Tony Bennett (1926-2023)

IT was the 1950s. The age of the baby boomers; the world was looking to a future of prosperity. Music was defining the shift. The rock and roll and the rebels without causes were just a few years away and a sweet tenor was filling the air. It was the voice of Tony Bennett, singing “Because of You,” his first: Because of you, there’s a song in my heart... The optimism was there—brilliant, rosy, unbridled. Like the 4 million babies being born each year. Elvis Presley was less than a decade away with his “Jailhouse Rock,” certainly not the youth listening to “forever and never to part.” For 10 weeks, “Because of You” stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. At the flipside of the 45 rpm, a term, which meant revolution per minute, the time that the record or vinyl was made to spin around the turntable, was another hit, “I Won’t Cry Anymore.” But Tony Bennett was at the cusp of a musical revolution partly created by him.

Songs shifted, rhythm rolled and Tony Bennett co-existed with other artists, the primum movens own artistic existence.

“Because of You” as sung by Tony Bennett, sounded so original no one ever thought it was an old song. But Tony Bennett sang the song and it forever became his.

By 1957, he sang a piece that would always be identified with him—“Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Here, notes rose and trembled up in the stratosphere. The song became an extension of Tony Bennett’s approach to music—arresting in its use of a voice that gathers its strength and develops into a hurricane of notes, breathlessly enunciated as if the singer had discovered the passion in the middle of his journey and rushed to announce whatever it was the song was hiding—pain, passion, love unrequited, heartbreak unforgotten. In any of the ballads Tony Bennetts had selected, there was always this element of discovery. By the time “Boulevard” was released, observers, fans and critics alike discovered not so much the style (that would come much later) but the voice. The rasp was noticeable and so magical, one thought it was either an affectation or the effect of whisky and tobacco. Or musicality.

It should interest the Tony Bennett aficionados (this writer unashamedly included) to know that the 1957 recording was not the first for that song. He sang “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” way back in 1951 in a voice that was tender and scaling the notes in such a bravura fashion, one would think he was a classical tenor making his incursion into the world of popular music.

Tony Bennett would lose the glide in that throat; in its place was a rough upper register that instead of diminishing the power of his performance, increased the drama of his interpretations. Our singer had become like many of us—a product of turbulent histories that did not exempt the musical world.

Bringing Filipino content to the world

GMA Network (www.gmanetwork.com) continues to deliver premium and world-class Filipino content on multiple platforms across the globe through its overseas arm GMA International and content distribution arm GMA Worldwide.

Through unwavering commitment and efforts in implementing various projects and initiatives, the network continues to make a mark in the international scene with its strong presence in different countries around the world.

Groundbreaking partnerships

TO make Global Pinoys feel at home wherever they are, GMA Network—thru GMA International— ventured into various collaborations with several content creators and media platforms this year.

In a historic collaboration with ABS-CBN International, GMA’s international channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV, and GMA News TV, as well as certain GMA on-demand programs, became available on iWantTFC beginning in May this year.

iWantTFC viewers in select countries and territories in Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Pacific/Caribbean Islands can now access GMA’s top-notch shows, such as Maria Clara at Ibarra, Abot-Kamay na Pangarap, Apoy sa Langit, First Yaya, and The World Between Us, among others.

GMA International also teamed up with Jungo Pinoy, the fastest-growing entertainment mobile app specifically created and curated for Filipinos by Los Angeles-based media company Jungo TV. Through this partnership, Jungo Pinoy users in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Canada, and select countries in Europe now enjoy GMA Pinoy TV for streaming hit Kapuso shows, like Voltes V: Legacy, Abot-Kamay na Pangarap, Royal Blood, Maria Clara at Ibarra, and more; GMA Life TV for lifestyle, travel, and infotainment programs; and GMA News TV for the latest, most comprehensive, and most credible news from home—all with no TV, cable, or satellite required.

The 1960s arrived accompanied by Tony Bennett’s signature style—the growl present in the enviable vibrato and a delivery of the first lines tentative, as if he was in search of a word.

The gestures and mannerisms were awkward, if we did it, but in Tony Bennett, a wondrous theatricality to behold. Piaf’s extended arms and Judy Garland’s tremulous fingers found a masculine home in our singer’s performance.

Then came the partnerships that allowed Tony Bennett to exist while the world was enamored with rock music. First, he partnered with two incredible musical giants: Bill Evans and Michel Legrand. With Bill Evans, new audiences discovered Tony Bennett as a jazz singer, stepping aside as the pianist did his unusual harmonies. With Legrand, it was the rolled chords of the composer that saw Tony Bennett as a witness to another genius. Evans and Legrand for Tony Bennett were not accompanists but comusicians. Then came the duets. Big deals all: Paul McCartney. Sting. Stevie Wonder. Extraordinary but greatly possible. Tony Bennett, however, sang with Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse. YouTube has captured the charm of all this: Tony Bennett unfazed as Gaga danced around him; Tony Bennett amazed at how Winehouse improvised the melody of a difficult song “Body and Soul.”

These were all beautiful tandems until k.d. lang and Josh Groban came along.

Already in his 80s, Tony Bennett’s first hit, “Because of You,” is sung first by k.d. lang, elegantly suave. The duet was a marriage in heaven, with k.d. lang challenging us to contend with her appearance, the voice velvet against the wild forest in the chest tones of Tony Bennett, the team-up transcending the romantic.

Romance gets a sublime treatment in Tony Bennett’s duet with Josh Groban. It is not romance between persons but between ages of man.

The older singer opens the song “That is all I ask: As I approach the prime of my life I find I have the time of my life.” This gets you asking if that line belongs to the younger singer. But “Josh”, as called by Bennett, comes in singing in a voice that recalls the latter’s youthful tenor: “Beautiful girls, walk a little slower when you walk by me/Lingering sunsets, stay a little longer with the lonely sea.∏ Shouldn’t an older man make that plea? Memories come surging back. They might as well be our own as the two join in for the final, final vow: “And I will stay younger than Spring.” With the flag-waving showmanship of Tony Bennett.

This is Tony Bennett, unafraid of youth and its passing. He sings with all of them because for him music belongs to all generations. He makes us sing in all of them. It does not matter if we did not know that city by the bay; what matters is a heart that, according to Tony Bennett, we can leave in a place that assures a return. n

BRYAN CRANSTON, JESSICA CHASTAIN JOIN STAR-STuDDED TIMES SquARE RALLY OF STRIKING ACTORS AND WRITERS

NEW YORK—SAG-AFTRA held its largest and most starstudded rally yet on Tuesday in Times Square in a picket signwaving show of solidarity 12 days into the actors strike.

A day after a Variety report questioned the lack of A-listers that have hit picket lines thus far, the rally on Tuesday boasted more star wattage than perhaps any single strike action yet.

Among those joining throngs of demonstrators were Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Brendan Fraser, Ellen Burstyn, Wendell Pierce, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Zegler, Michael Shannon, Jane Curtin, Christian Slater and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Taking up a full city block, actors and representatives from the actors union took turns giving fiery speeches on a stage in the heart of Times Square while tourists gawked and passing trucks honked in support. At times, the actors took aim at the corporate lights and billboards around them, including the Walt Disney-owned ESPN and ABC studios that sat alongside the rally.

“We’ve got a message to Mr. Iger,” said Cranston, directing his comments at Disney CEO Bob Iger. “I know, sir, that you look through things from a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that, to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living.”

The rally took place a stone’s throw from Broadway theaters and, given the talent involved, featured a higher degree of show business than your usual labor rally. Avatar actor Stephen Lang quoted Frederick Douglass. Wendell

Pierce recited Samuel Beckett. Tituss Burgess didn’t speak; he sang Stephen Sondheim.

Arian Moayed, who played the investor Stewy Hosseini in Succession, compared the characters of the HBO series to the studio executives the actors are negotiating with. “It’s like these people haven’t seen [expletive] Succession,” Moayed exclaimed.

“It’s about you!” Christine Baranski of The Good Wife and The Good Fight likewise drew from her own credits.

“We will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time, it is just simply time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be robbed,” said Baranski before concluding: “Let’s fight the good fight!”

Earlier this month, actors joined striking screenwriters who walked out in May. It’s the first time both unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960. The stoppage has shuttered nearly all film and television production. Actors say the streaming revolution has altered pay in entertainment, stripping them of residuals and remaking working conditions. They are also seeking guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence, along with increases to the union’s health care and pension programs.

“Our industry has changed exponentially,” said Cranston. “We are not in the same business model that we were in even 10 years ago. And yet, even though they admit that that’s the truth in today’s economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated. They want us to step back in time.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating on behalf of studios, has said it presented

actors with a generous deal that included the biggest bump in minimum pay in 35 years among other benefits. Since talks broke off and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists commenced the strike, the sides have not negotiated and no talks are scheduled.

“We may be on strike but I said to them on July 12 we are ready to continue talking tomorrow and every day after until we reach a deal,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. “And I’ve said that every day since to the media, to them, to anyone who would listen. SAGAFTRA is ready, willing and able to return to the bargaining table.

“The only reason we aren’t there now is because those companies said that they didn’t want to deal with people who were uncivilized and because those companies said they wouldn’t be ready to talk for quite some time,” added Crabtree-Ireland.

Many actors Tuesday cast the strike in personal terms. Slater said the union’s health care helped sustain his father’s life. Slater’s father, the actor Michael Hawkins, died last November. Liza Colón-Zayas, the 51-year-old Bronx-born actor of the Hulu hit series The Bear, said her lifetime of hard work isn’t paying off.

“I have struggled 35 years to get here only to find residuals have dwindled exponentially,” said Colón-Zayas. “If you can announce the highest-viewed this and the highest profits in that, then you can track our residuals. So we need to come to the table but we need to come to the table in good faith that there will be transparency in how we are being paid by streaming. We need you to open the books.” AP

Moreover, GMA Pinoy TV—the network’s flagship international channel—has been inducted by Digital Pilipinas, a private sector-led movement that promotes the digitalization of the Philippine economy, as their partner in promoting Financial Literacy through their digitalization campaign to the OFWs and Filipino Immigrants and their families and dependents. Digital Pilipinas invited GMA Pinoy TV to be the Media Champion for the Global Pinoys in recognition of its efforts at promoting the interests of overseas Filipinos and their families through GMA International’s GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV, and GMA News TV.  Aside from that, GMA Pinoy TV also shares the stories of inspiring Filipinos who have ventured abroad and fearlessly established their own business. Their successful tales were showcased in the documentary series “EntrePinoy Abroad,” which won the Silver Telly in the Online—Series: Documentary category of the esteemed 44th Annual Telly Awards. By showcasing their triumphs and challenges, GMA Pinoy TV promotes the world-class talent of Pinoys abroad.

GMA International is also part of GMA Network’s Anti-Piracy Committee. Strengthening the network’s anti-piracy capabilities and initiatives to protect its content, GMA partnered with the world’s largest and most effective anti-piracy coalition, Alliance for Creativity & Entertainment (ACE), earlier this year.

Going ‘glocal’

GMA Network has also embraced a “glocal” outlook in producing content aimed at the local and global markets. While the shows are locally produced, all have global appeal.  Poised to cement GMA Network’s position as the primary source of Filipino content around the globe, GMA Worldwide continues to reach more and more viewers worldwide via program syndication. Currently, GMA produces around 26 dramas yearly that are being distributed to over 50 countries across five continents. GMA Worldwide has licensed over 100 titles around the globe to date.

The network’s content distribution arm promises to deliver worldwide programs and drama series that are global, cutting-edge, and high-quality. It remains committed to providing premium Filipino content to international buyers with GMA programs dubbed into different languages and is well-loved by international viewers.

GMA Network is committed to enriching the lives of Filipinos with superior entertainment through various initiatives and collaborations. Coupled with this is GMA’s timely delivery of accurate news reports and information on various platforms around the world.

INSULAR FOUNDATION WINS IN THE ASIA RESPONSIBLE ENTERPRISE AWARDS 2023

This recognition will further inspire Insular Foundation and InLife to provide A Lifetime for Good to our fellow Filipinos through our volunteerism programs and community endeavors,” Insular Foundation Executive Director Ana Maria Soriano said.

THE Insular Foundation receives an Award for “outstanding and exemplary achievements in sustainability and responsible entrepreneurship.” Insular Foundation Executive Director Ana Maria Soriano (standing, middle) holds the Asia Responsible Enterprise Asia Award for Social Empowerment, while InLife Chief Human Resources Officer Rozana Pecson (standing, second from right) holds

Conducted in 2022, the Race for the Extra Mile rallied the members of the InLife community to do good for others by walking, running, or biking. The Insular Foundation matched the race participants’ total distance coverage with cash donation for the Department of Education’s Last Mile Schools, and Waves for Water Philippines. The beneficiary public elementary schools located in highly remote areas of Tanay, Rizal cater to students who are mostly coming from the indigenous tribe of Dumagat. The other beneficiary non-government organization, meanwhile, provides clean water sources to communities.

BUSINESS FORUM FOR INDUSTRIAL

Reb Belleza’s one-man art exhibit

The Insular Foundation’s fitnessfor-charity volunteerism program Race for the Extra Mile was particularly recognized for its clear “social empowerment mission” for women, minority groups, and economically

disadvantaged communities.

“As Insular Foundation marks our 53rd year of empowering communities, we are honored to receive the Asia Responsible Enterprise Award for Social Empowerment.

The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards program (AREA) recognizes Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible business practices in eight categories: Social Empowerment, Investment in People, Green Leadership, Health Promotion, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership, Corporate Sustainability Reporting, and Responsible Business Leadership. This awards program is presented by Enterprise Asia, a non-government organization promoting entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development.

Iloilo City now serves cargo ships direct from Singapore

THE City of Iloilo is now serving cargo ships that sail direct from Singapore. Global carrier Regional Container Lines (RCL), which is based in Thailand and Singapore, sailed on its maiden voyage to expand services at Iloilo Commercial Port Complex, Brgy. Loboc, La Paz, Iloilo City on July 22, 2023.

“We welcome the first international container carrier arriving in Iloilo international port complex. I am very happy that this has finally come to fruition. We have worked so hard for this and we welcome this milestone in the economy of Iloilo. This is the start of a new level in Iloilo’s economy. The City Government is fully supportive of this development,” stressed Mayor

HAVE you ever been so hungry you could eat a whole bowl of rice—even the bowl itself?

Well, now you can, because Taco Bell has created a new rice dish that lets you do just that!

You’ll never look at rice bowls the same way again with the new Taco Rice Bowl, the latest innovation from Taco Bell! Experience the Tex-Mex flavors that you know and love in a new way, available in two irresistible options!

First up is the new Taco Beef Rice Bowl, made with Mexican rice, cooked and seasoned to perfection, that is topped with several dollops of equally flavorful ground beef, and then garnished with shredded fresh lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a special sauce, all contained in a bowl-shaped taco wrap that you can also eat!

There’s also the new Taco BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl, made with perfectly cooked and seasoned Mexican rice that is made even more delectable with a generous fixing of chicken chunks, garnished with shredded fresh lettuce and diced tomatoes,

Jerry P. Treñas.

RCL’s MV Kiti Bhum 1010N 889TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) vessel will be back in Iloilo every two weeks, then travel to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga before returning to Singapore.

The transit time takes around four to five days from Singapore to Iloilo directly, thus saving on transportation cost of goods. This will do away with Manila or Cebu stopover which takes five days and another three to four days going to Iloilo.

“As an international container line, we are connecting Iloilo to the rest of the world; this is the farmto-market road by the seas for Iloilo, and we are foreseeing big savings for

both importers and exporters,” RCL General Manager Marlon Isah de Guzman said.

“Export and import businesses from Iloilo can connect to 600 potential port markets via Singapore rather than going through domestic carriers via Cebu or Manila. The businesspeople who transact globally no longer have to bring their cargoes to and from Cebu and Manila; the transfer cost will be saved. Initially for Iloilo, we have the importation of rice,” he added.

The company noted that they opted to extend services in Iloilo City since it is highly urbanized with diverse sectors and will continue to grow further by improving trade facilitation at the port.

THE works of Reb Belleza take on a playful spin on art. The adventure begins with becoming aware of what one perceives. We land in a spot where our visions may differ. This time, finding joy in others seeing what we can’t. One gladly accepts. For us, a dish of dots got served sumptuously, stating: art moves. And we are transfixed. Taking shape is fun that unfolds towards the other. Nothing can be more attractive.

Fun is love.

Reb Belleza entered the industry of cinema at an early age. In between shoots, he preferred to play rather than rest, which motivated the legendary actress Susan Roces to provide him with boxes of crayons and coloring books. Among others, it ignited a dormant inclination of Belleza for the visual arts. His leanings toward it became evident in school when he took academic electives related to the arts. He enrolled at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in 1987 and pursued formal studies in painting. A few years later, under the guidance and

support of his godfather Fernando Poe, Jr., he left for California to study Visual Communications at Santa Monica College. He also registered for a summer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Since then, the visual arts further shaped his world.

From his show at the Philippine Center in New York, USA, in 1995 to his participation at the 1999 Venice Biennale in Italy and other exhibits held in-between and after, Belleza seized and slayed. His colors are poetry, reminding us of the need for light for us to see. This illumination got reflected in the symbiotic nature of his art. My Art and You co-exist therein, acknowledged. But more than this, the artist intends to embrace You and I. In fun, we may get lost, it seems to say. Comforting it is that we can all return to home, where it all began with love.

Reb Belleza’s One-man Art Exhibition, It’s all connected will happen on August 6, 2023 to August 12, 2023 at Art Circle Gallery Bahay ng Alumni UP Diliman Campus.

Cultural advancement group to hold creative writing workshop

and then finished with a drizzle of barbeque sauce, all contained in an edible taco wrap bowl!

The Taco Beef Rice Bowl and Taco BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl are priced at P209 each a la carte, but you can also go for a full meal with a 12-oz serving of ice-cold and fizzy soda for an additional P20. The Taco Beef Rice Bowl and Taco BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl are available exclusively for dine-in in all Taco Bell branches nationwide

starting July 19, 2023.

Enjoy this new innovation together with your other favorites from Taco Bell by visiting a branch near you! You can find a list of operational branches at www.tacobell. com.ph/locations.

Don’t miss the latest updates, offers, and deals from Taco Bell by following and giving the brand a like on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

BROWN Movement for Cultural Advancement, Inc., a non-stock, non-profit organization of professionals that aims to preserve, promote and enhance the Filipino cultural genius, is pleased to announce its forthcoming workshop on writing, literature and art.

Visitacion “Chit” R. de la Torre, one of the country’s seasoned writers and book authors, consultant and lecturer on Philippine history and culture, arts and lifestyle, will conduct the workshop. he workshop invites adults and professionals who wish to learn the craft of

writing interspersed with appreciation classes on literature and the arts as well as visits to museums and artistic/cultural/ historical sites.

The writing classes include learning the qualities of good, effective writing, style, review, and feature writing.

The workshop consists of six Saturdays and shall be held at the office of Brown Movement at Windsor Tower, 163 Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Makati.

For more details, please call tel. nos. 8815-6925 or 815-4938, or email address at chitdelatorre19@gmail.com

INSULAR Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Insular Life (InLife), was awarded the Asia Responsible Enterprise Award for Social Empowerment.

PARK LOCATORS Science Park of the Philippines, Inc. (SPPI), a pioneer in private industrial estate development and one of the largest developers in the country, recently hosted a business forum for locators from SPPI ecozones in Luzon at The Palms Country Club in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. Organized to facilitate ease of business for partner locators, the forum allowed participants to engage in a fruitful discussion and consultation with guest speakers that included, seated from left, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Tereso Panga, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) deputy commissioner Marissa Cabreros, and Bureau of Customs (BOC) acting chief Atty. Ferdinand Pauig. On the podium is SPPI vice president Patrick Allan Perez.

‘It’s All Connected’ opens on Aug. 6

the award certificate. (Seated from left): InLife Executive Chairperson Nina Aguas and Insular Foundation Program Manager Teresita Melad.

(Standing from left): Human Resources Specialist Kristine Velasco, Foundation Program Assistant Sheila Mae Geroche, and Foundation Program Specialist Lady Janelle Monsanto.

Taco Bell now has Taco Rice Bowls in all branches nationwide

Norwegian-born Eggesvik unfazed in crucial match vs Grasshoppers

BORN in Norway but proudly

Filipino, talented midfielder Sara Eggesvik will set her feelings aside and will be battleready as the Filipinas play the Gresshoppene (Grasshoppers) in a critical final Group A match on Sunday in the FIFA Women’s World Cup at Eden Park in Auckland.

We have to put that aside when the game starts. I am playing for the Philippines. I will do my best to get a win and get points,” Eggesvik said empathically shortly after the Filipinas upset New Zealand’s Ferns, 1-0, for their historic first World Cup win at the Sky Stadium in Wellington last Tuesday.

A nother of Australian coach Alen Stajcic’s prized finds, Eggesvik, whose father is Norwegian and mother from Davao, was born in the coastal city of  Bodø (pronounced Budo), 1,188.5 kilometers northeast of the capital of Oslo and located near the Artic Circle.

She caught the attention of Filipino fans during last year’s 10th Asean Football Federatoin Women’s Championship where her midfield mastery and fluid play was in full display as the Filipinas bagged the country’s first major international title at the heritage-rich Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

W ith a cross inside the box, Eggesvik  set up striker Sarina Bolden, whose smashing header in the 24th minute proved to be the winning marker that gave the Filipinas a new lease on life after suffering a 0-2 setback to Switzerland in Dunedin last week.

I remember getting the ball in the 16-meter [box] and just crossed it. It was an amazing header by Sarina over three defenders,” she said.

“Although it was only one goal, we had to keep them away from goal the rest of the way. It was a team effort. I am just so glad and grateful. I am so proud of this team.”

Trying to hold back her tears, Eggesvik, 26, said the victory over the fancied Ferns showed that “this team is really something special. It shows we can compete at this level and we will keep on fighting.”

It shows that it is possible to get a win, to get a goal and get points from our games. That motivates us. I am glad that we are not out already,” she added.   She paid credit to Stajcic and the rest of the coaching staff “who keep on pushing us and making us better every day. We have always believed in ourselves even when we lost and played bad games. We will keep on playing hard.”

S he acknowledged that while they would savor the winning moment, it would be back to the salt mines just as immediately

BACH DOES A LENNON A YEAR BEFORE PARIS

PARIS—The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday formally invited the world’s nations but not Russia or its military ally Belarus to gather in one year in Paris for the Olympics—launching the final countdown to the 2024 Games against the backdrop of war in Ukraine.

IOC president Thomas Bach accompanied his invite with a plea for togetherness and invoked the memory of John Lennon as he argued that “our fragile world, with conflicts, divisions and wars rising,” needs the Olympics’ “unifying power more than ever.”

The Olympic Games must always build bridges. The Olympic Games must never erect walls. Imagine. You may say we are dreamers. We are not

the only ones,” Bach said, borrowing from Lennon’s famous peace anthem, “Imagine.”

B ach has heaped praise on Paris’s preparations this week as the French capital marked the year-to-go milestone to the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024. Paris is maybe at this stage the best-prepared city ever,” Bach said.

W ithout the usual worries about whether Olympic venues will be ready, the biggest unknown this time is whether Bach and the IOC will let athletes from Russia and Belarus compete.

I n Paris this week, the IOC president has not deviated from his line that there may be a pathway for some of them to compete as “neutral athletes,” without their countries’

flags, names or colors, but that the final decision will come later.

“ There’s still one year to go,” Bach said Wednesday. “We have not taken any decision about the participation of individual neutral athletes yet.”

The sending out of formal invites for national Olympic committees and their best athletes to take part in the July 26 to August 11 Olympics is an IOC tradition to mark the year-togo milestone of both Summer and Winter Games.

Th is time, 203 NOCs are getting them. Some picked up their invites from Bach in person Wednesday at a ceremony at the Paris Games headquarters. An invite also went to the IOC’s team of refugee athletes.

Guatemala joined Russia and Belarus on the list of NOCs that aren’t

invited. Guatemala is suspended from the Olympic movement because of alleged government interference with the independence of its NOC.

O ther year-to-go events this week have been less formal than the ceremony where Bach spoke about Olympic values and where a violinist played France’s national anthem and Lennon’s “Imagine.”

O n a visit to the Olympic village that will house many of the 10,500 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympic athletes, Bach got to test one of the cardboard beds they’ll sleep on. Cardboard beds were also used at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 and became something of a hit when athletes posted videos of themselves testing their durability.

I can assure them that they will

Tagaytay City gradually transforming into national sports hub

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino led the inauguration ceremony for the Tagaytay City Combat Center on Thursday, signaling what could be the world-famous tourist destination’s gradual transformation into the country’s multi-sport hub.

T he former Tagaytay City multi-purpose arena was fully rehabilitated into a combat center that would cater to martial arts including taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, vovinam, boxing, arnis, wrestling, muay, among others.

The dome-shaped facility on Crisanto M. de los Reyes Avenue is adjacent to the Tagaytay City BMX Park, which hosted the Asian BMX Racing and Freestyle Championships only two weeks ago, and the Skateboard Park—both international-standard facilities.

“ I am happy to announce that, I think, we’re the first LGU [local government unit] to have a facility like this one,” Tolentino, also head of the PhilCycling, said during the inauguration where national combat sports athletes who won medals at the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games entertained the packed crowd with demonstrations of their respective sports.

THE Philippines—with seasoned aces Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo on board—is out to wage a stronger fight when it hosts the second leg of the inaugural Southeast Asia (SEA)

Volleyball League Friday at the City of Santa Rosa

Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna. Bagunas and Espejo, two of the country’s top spikers, will mark their national team return in the V.League to form a lethal troika with rising star Steven Rotter, who earned Best Opposite Spiker honors in the first leg held in Jakarta last week. They’re experienced players. They’re smart. They can share their experiences with others,” said national men’s team head coach Sergio Veloso as his wards brace for their SEA neighbors anew. “We can make a stronger job. I feel we can play better now.”

e Philippines takes on Thailand at 7 p.m. for the main event after

Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (front, third from left) and Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Edward Hayco (front, second from left) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony with (front, from left) Cavite Vice Governor Athena Tolentino and Tagaytay City Vice Mayor Agnes Tolentino, DMD, as well as combat sports officials (rear, from left) Alvin Aguilar (president, wrestling), Jose Malonzo (secretary-general, Vovinam), Alexander Sulit (president, judo), Tongson Rene (secretary-general, arnis), Ferdie Agustin (president, jiu-jitsu) and Atty. Wharton Chan (secretary-general, kickboxing).

Philippine Sports Commission commissioner Edward Hayco, representing chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann, joined Tolentino in the ribbon-cutting

ceremony that had all the makings of a fiesta celebration complete with a drum-and-bugle corps and an enthusiastic local crowd.

A lso present in the ceremony

were Cavite Vice Governor Athena Tolentino, Tagaytay City Vice Mayor Agnes Tolentino, DMD, Alvin Aguilar (president, wrestling), Jose Malonzo (secretary-general, Vovinam), Alexander Sulit (president, judo), Tongson Rene (secretary-general, arnis), Ferdie Agustin (president, jiu-jitsu) and Atty. Wharton Chan (secretary-general, kickboxing).

Tagaytay City, through Tolentino, has regularly hosted national and international chess tournaments, as well as cycling competitions— including the 2019 Southeast Asian Games—because of its technical terrain with the mystical Taal Volcano and Lake as backdrop.

Tagaytay will not only be known as the country’s cycling hub, but also the country’s combat sports capital,” added Tolentino, who announced that the country’s first indoor and wooden velodrome would also rise very soon next to the combat center.

The POC chief also announced that an athletes dormitory and hotel will be constructed in the same area known locally as the Tagaytay City Atrium. He encouraged the combat sports officials to bid for international competitions saying Tagaytay City has the available facility, including hotels, restaurants and other peripherals required for global events.

Bagunas, Espejo, Rotter lead PHL charge in SEA tilt

the opener between Vietnam and Indonesia at 4 p.m. Up next for the hosts are Indonesia and Vietnam on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

M ore than the games, the Philippines is putting a premium on another international tournament after successfully hosting the Volleyball Nations League Men’s Week 3 earlier this month at the Mall of Asia Arena for the second straight year.

Men’s volleyball is getting popular and we’re very happy to have our close neighbors with us here. We hope to expand next year with more countries,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara in the event presser Thursday at the Seda Nuvali.

“

This tournament is very important for Southeast Asia as we, the Philippines along with Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are bidding

VOLLEYBALL federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara (seated, center), with Seda Nuvali general manager Armand Angeles and secretary-general Donaldo Caringal pose with the team coaches and captains of Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia during the tournament press conference Thursday at the Seda Nuvali.

to host the 2025 Volleyball Women’s World Championship,” he added. The SEA VLeague—presented by PLDT and backed by the City of Santa Rosa, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, One Sports and Cignal, is a brainchild of Suzara and Thailand federation president Shanrit Wongprasert.

No new details on Bronny James 2 days after cardiac arrest

University of Southern California.

LeBron James was spotted by photographers entering Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Bronny James is being treated after the incident Monday morning at USC’s campus arena.

son of National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar LeBron James went into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice with his team at the

sleep very well in these beds,” Bach said. He also rubbed shoulders with eight-time gold-medal winner Usain Bolt, who was the star guest on a festive trip for Olympic officials and French athletes on the River Seine. The boat trip Tuesday to the foot of the Eiffel Tower offered a small foretaste of the unprecedented waterborne opening ceremony that Paris is planning for its Games. Paris organizers this week also unveiled the design of the sleek silvercolored torch that will be used to carry the Olympic flame around France and on its final leg at the July 26 opening. A nd they snagged a sponsorship deal with the world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. AP

Yulo gets PBBM invite for visit in Malacañang

By Josef Ramos

MALACA Ñ ANG asked gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo to pay President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. a visit before he returns to Japan to vigorously train for September’s world championships in Belgium.

Palace officials told the Philippine Sports Commission about President Marcos’s desire to meet Yulo—who recently won gold medals in floor exercise, parallel bars and vault at the Asian championships in Singapore.  The meeting is set August 9, according to Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion-Norton.

“Malacañang wants to see Caloy before he goes back to serious work for the world championships,” CarrionNorton told BusinessMirror on Thursday. “He will be training seriously in Japan by mid-August ahead of the world championships.”

I’m very sure President Marcos will give him words of encouragement to bring home the gold and qualify for the Paris Olympics,” she said.  T he House of Representatives, according to Carrion-Norton, also wants to honor Yulo through Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Yulo is competing at the September 29 to October 8 world in Antwerp which are a qualifier for the Paris Olympics. He’s skipping the Hangzhou Asian Games to fulfill his goal of returning to the Olympics after Tokyo 2021.

CHARITY GOLF

Tagaytay Highlands Ladies Chapter (THLC) president Rosalind Wee (second from right) hands over the proceeds of the organization’s recent tournament to its annual charity beneficiary, the Sisters of Mary, Boys and Girls Town, in Silang, Cavite, represented by Sister Teresita Sumalabe.

Bronny James was in stable condition Tuesday, and patients who experience an unlikely cardiac arrest often undergo numerous tests over

multiple days to determine the cause. He spent only a brief time in intensive care—a positive sign for his long-term recovery from the frightening episode. Bronny’s 16-year-old brother, Bryce, posted a photo of the two on his Instagram story, along with a heart.

Bryce James is also a top basketball prospect who already has received Division I scholarship offers. AP

Also in photo are THLC officers Marixi Prieto (left) and Dionne Cu. Founded by Venerable Al Schwartz in 1985, the technical school provides six years of education in various fields—from automotive to accounting, baking to computers, to medical and electronics.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee President

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section

Motoring

Editor: Tet Andolong • www.businessmirror.com.ph

LEADING mobility company

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) recently unveiled the latest generation of its bestselling hatchback, the All-New Toyota Wigo. Since its introduction, TMP has positioned the model in the local market targeting first-time car owners. The new-generation small hatchback features a bold, fresh design, improved technology, and driving performance. TMP claims that the latest model reinforces its position as the Filipinos’ reliable, practical, and easy-to-use mobility partner in starting any life journey.

Held at the Trinoma Activity Center in Quezon City, TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto presented the myriad of AllNew Wigo variants featuring an

improved driving platform and overall appearance. This wellloved Toyota vehicle received a combination of a sportier look and ease of driving—ideal for those looking for a quality daily driver with a good impression.

“This is a very exciting launch for us at Toyota Motor Philippines because we know that the Wigo is one of the favorite Toyota models of Filipinos. The Wigo has given many new car buyers their memorable first car experience. In fact, we have given thrill and

joy to more than 149,000 Wigo owners since the model was introduced in the country in 2014,” said Okamoto.

Bolder looks

THE All-New Wigo has grown and transformed itself into a sportier-looking small hatchback. Dimension-wise, the more aggressive exterior design is 3760mm long, 1655mm wide, and 1515mm tall—bigger and wider than its predecessor. The increase in overall dimension

could only mean more interior and cargo space. As for the looks, the front grille has grown more prominent, complementing the fresh slimmer headlamps. Even the bumper’s design has improved with more sharp profiles and better-looking fog lamps. All these elements highlight the brand’s design language.

Smarter features

THE All-New Wigo remains easy and fun to drive thanks to its functions like electronic power

steering type, smart keyless entry, and push start ignition system for the G variant. The G and E variants and 8-inch display audio are ready for Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Moreover, it has an advanced audio system and a dashboard camera.

Another must-have for those just starting their journey is the peace of mind brought by advanced safety features. Standard safety features include SRS airbags for the driver and front passenger, back sonar, and Anti-Lock

Brake System (ABS). Moreover, two Isofix Tether Anchors keep kids safe and sound in the backseat. All variants also come with Vehicle Stability Control and Hill Start Assist. Motivation comes from the same 1.0-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine generating 65 hp and 89 N-m of maximum torque, paired with a Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) or a five-speed manual gearbox.

Pricing and colors

THE All-New Wigo G grade retails at P729,000, and the E grade at P684,000. The base variant J (M/T) retails at P609,000. Red Mica Metallic 2, Orange Metallic 3, Yellow SE, Silver Metallic 4, Gray Metallic and White 2 colors are available. More information is available at  www.toyota. com.ph , ToyotaMotorPhilippines (Facebook and Instagram), and @ ToyotaMotorPH (Twitter).

Toyota’s historic foray into Fiba World Cup

September 10 this year.

“ Good day, everyone especially to our friends at SBP.

THE iconic Toyota Coaster for the exclusive use of Gilas Pilipinas during the duration of the Fiba World Basketball Cup has been recently delivered, with no less than national coach Chot Reyes in attendance in the turnover ceremony witnessed by Vince S. Socco, a leading light in the Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) hierarchy and the concurrent chairman of Lexus Manila Inc.

A gain, that’s another proof that car manufacturing isn’t just simply a vehicle business, but also plays a major role in nation-building as well.  Applause, applause.

T he following is the warmlyapplauded speech of TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto during the launch of the partnership between TMP and SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas), making official the giant car company’s historic foray into Gilas Pilipinas’ campagin in the Fiba World Cup set in Manila from August 25 to

I am very excited to finally announce this partnership.  We recognize how much Filipinos love basketball, which is why it is a pleasure for us at TMP to support the historic hosting of the 2023 Fiba World Cup.  We are glad to be of help to the Philippines, one of the three host countries with Japan and Indonesia to give the world an amazing and unforgettable event.  It also gives us honor and pride to be the official mobility partner of Gilas Pilipinas—the Philippines’ national basketball team.

Toyota shares Gilas Pilipinas’ heart and passion in uplifting the Filipino spirit, in our own special way:  Gilas Pilipinas in fueling the Filipino pride, and TMP in providing mobility for all.

“ Toyota believes that when you are free to move, anything is possible.  The unifying goals make it an obvious move for us to join the entire nation in backing the team in its quest to give the Philippines a good and thrilling fight at the Fiba World Cup championships.

By being part of the 2023 Fiba World Cup, one of the biggest sports events this year, we aim to further inspire and encourage

more Filipinos to use the power of movement to reach their full potential. This is the spirit of our ‘Start Your Impossible’ global sports campaign.

With this partnership with Fiba through SBP, and the unity basketball brings to Filipinos, we are moving closer to our goal of producing happiness for all.

This is a very exciting partnership, and we can’t wait to finally be in the courtside cheering with all of you.

Laban, Pilipinas! Move your world!”

Well-said, Okamoto-san!

PEE STOP Success surrounded the recent 18th Isuzu Skills Olympics in Laguna, with 29 teams in attendance.  Isuzu president Tetsuya Fujita expressed his gratitude to the staff “for making the Isuzu brand number one for 23 straight years.” ...Here’s to Noriaki Hirakata, who recently became the first ever chairman of Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corporation… Spencer Yu’s Brennan Ramos says the 2023 BMW Joyfest will unfurl July 28 at 5:30 p.m., with the threeday event set at the BMW Pavilion in BGC Taguig…And, yes, Rommel Sytin’s Foton is also a major mobility partner of Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba World Cup.  Mabuhay!

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

IMPROVED cabin design with smarter features

THE all-new Toyota Wigo G grade in Orange Metallic color

RETAINED 1.0-liter gasoline engine but now paired with a CVT (G and E grades)